Senryu, Tanka, Haiku, Haibun

Senryu
starving watchers
are discarded as
the starved watch

Tanka
eyes narrowed
leaning forward
upper lip curled
he mutters
no fries?

Haiku

Manna
the last page
sifts and is gone

Crane
dip your beak
once into my heart again

eternity blossoms
the stone lies
upon a crysanthemum


Haibun
The hospital is nearly deserted. The nurses eye me nervously. I walk into the nursery. Ignoring their stares I walk to the crib and look down. The soft whisper of her breath matches my own as I gently reach and carefully lift her into my arms. I stare. Dark eyebrows shadow brown skin. A frame of soft black hair. A rocking chair nudges the back of my knees. I gratefully slide onto the seat as tears silently slip down my face. I feel my back touch the cool wood.

stone never cries
a tiny heart flutters
to the sound of my tears

The small white coffin dares me to cry. Waiting in silence, friends somberly await my pace. The gentle cadence of verse sears my soul. Finished, silence descends amidst the murmur of sorrow. Feet, now anxious to tread life, move decorously toward waiting cars. I wait, uncertain. My mind urges me to move away but my heart is rooted in the soft dark soil.

winter's silence
motionless grasshoppers
take their vows

Haiku Salad

manna
the last page
sifts and is gone

Ichiban

A short history of Japanese Poetry ... cited from Jane Reichhold (Another Attempt to Define Haiku) http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiku.htm. Thank you!

The earliest poetry in Japan (9th to 11th century) was verbal, and known as Tanka. A verbal poetry to the gods and praising the monarchy, it consisted of five lines, with a syllable form of 5-7-5-7-7.

Contests in Tanka (9th to 12th century)led to a linked form of Tanka where one poet would write the first three lines of 5-7-5 and a second poet would answer and finish the last two lines of 7-7. This led to another poet 'answering' the first Tanka with another 5-7-5 and so on. This was called Renga, which became popular in the 14th century. There were two forms of Renga, a serious and a comic form. The famous Renga master, Basho (1644-1694), favored the comic style.

These contests required good hokku, 5-7-5 starting verse, and so Renga contestants began stocking up on hokku to prepare for impromptu contests. This led to the popularity of hokku and haikai (any verse in a Renga). As the 19th century began, M. Shiki declared Renga dead, combined the tems hokku and haikai and haiku was born.

What makes haiku - haiku? It has a form of three lines, 5-7-5. Since there are fundamental differences between English and Japanese this syllabic form can be adjusted. There is a break at the end of the first or the second line. To one or two concrete images add a third image that creates a new relationship; a twist, which reveals an unstated truth. It centers on events in nature. Minimize the importance of humanity.