Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 245

Just exactly what is Haiku?

Many people are intimidated or, at best, put off by the mention of haiku. They may find it confusing, contradictory or just downright silly. Actually, it is none of these things when you understand the structure and premise of this lovely form of Japanese inspired poetry.


First of all, let us consider the structure. A haiku consists of three lines of non-rhyming poetry. Lines one and three consist of exactly five (5) syllables; no more, no less. Line two consists of seven (7) syllables. Count them. Sound them out. There must be exactly seven. 


Next rule: the haiku must relate, in some way, to nature. Birds, bees, plants, animals, the sun, the sky, the moon and stars, the seasons; anything that has to do with nature. 


Finally, each line has a specific purpose. Line one sets the stage. It’s like the introduction, the opening statement. Line two supports or expands on line one. Line three is the kicker. It often seems to take the poem in a completely different direction. However, on closer inspection the reader realizes it is not only related to the previous two lines, but gives them a whole new meaning. This juxtaposition is the essence of haiku.


Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

On Being the Age of Us

Boomers, beware! The seasons are changing,
Paths rearranging and fading fast.
The soft silent Spring that rained on your Summer is
Fumbling, tumbling into the past.

Try as you may to stop time in her paces,
She flashes many faces,
Escapes without traces.
And though you may witness
Her bounty of graces
You know she must win in the end.

She doles us her favors on limited basis
To run out our races
In various places.
With all of the gusto good harvest embraces
She dons the mock mask of a friend.

But those of our age
Are not fooled by her witness.
We’ve seen where her
Nightmarish limits reside.
We live in our moment
Secure in our hour
With faith in the prize
On the other side.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Haiku 42

Autumn bending near,
Inhales summer’s final sigh.
Wondrous colors glow.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Meltaway Heart

Oh! Poor poor fool with the meltaway heart.
We caught you crying again.
So foolish to give yourself away
So quickly, completely, so easily.
There's nothing quite as saddening
As unrequited love;
A storybook whose end you long to change.
That devastating blow that only comes
When you reveal your heart to learn

That you are nothing more than friends.It makes you swear that next time,
If a next time there might be,
Will be different,
Will be better,
Will be sane.
But comes along a giving soul
Who makes you feel at home,
And your heart can't help
But melt away again.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Haiku 41

Nod to your partner,
Gesture the virtuous maid,
Bow to Mother Earth.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

The Figure Skater

Grace and beauty on the ice,
They jump and twirl and spin,
Racing down, around and round,
Around and back again.
Poetry on figure skates
Defying gravity;
Elevating, levitating
Angle by degree.
Music playing in the background
Softly, soothing, warm;
Lifting up the spirit
With an easy distant charm.
Every move precision.
Every motion primed.
Like a poet's sense of meter,
Every sentence rhymed.
Coming to a grand crescendo,
Spinning like a top!
Leaving watchers wanting
Curtain calls that never stop.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Haiku 40

Saints and martyrs sing
To the heights of paradise.
Sinners cry alone.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Arms Akimbo

Hands on hips with arms akimbo,
Strident, stalwart, self-assured,
Mother knows that something's happened;
Knows the truth will be obscured.

Questions probe but find no answers,
Yet her fervor still persists.
In the end the child relents,
But "not my fault", he must insist.

Now he promises he's sorry.
It won't happen e'er again.
In her eyes he seeks forgiveness;
Blind compassion from his friend.

Who can punish wide-eyed childhood?
Would it help make him obey?
In the end she finds forgiveness,
And she sends him out to play.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Age is Just a Number

Father Time is masterful at
Changing plots and storylines,
And all bear witness as
The transformations are discerned.
As season shifts to season
Etched in incremental stages,
Mortality becomes
An unavoidable concern.

But age is just a number
And old is but a state of mind.
And I’ll be here (until I’m not),
So, set the feast and pour the wine.

Like Mister Frost whose lifelong task
Was oft misunderstood,
But found the road to longevity
In a lonely yellow wood.
Or Glenn, the younger, circumnavigating
Time and space
To Glenn, the elder, after
Seven decades and still in the chase.

So, let the aging process roll
Unchecked and unforgiving,
And I’ll be here (until I’m not)
To make the most of living.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...

Haiku 39

Sky descends at dusk.
A million fearless fireflies
Tickle evening’s bloom. 


Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Amazon Author's Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-S-Martin...