Haiku

How to Haiku

I was teaching my sixth-grade students a mini-lesson on writing Haiku. 5-7-5 syllabic pattern. Nature. I considered it a review lesson since we wrote some last year, so I was surprised at all their questions.

“How many syllables in ‘miles’?” One.

“Does it have to be about nature?” Yes.

“Please, can we write about something besides nature?” I envision 33 Haikus about flowers. Ugh.

“OK, I’ll open it up to include whatever is happening in your lives. But remember, Haiku is about the now. Write about what is in front of you.” They give me blank stares but begin writing. They submit them to me, eagerly awaiting approval. Many beautiful poems about spring land on my desk. And then this one:

Mirror

IMG-2607
Stage I: Messy Art Journaling

 

Hey there, preening girl!

“beauty” is destined to flee

“Real You” will remain

 

About this poem: as I age and raise teenage daughters, I realize the stage where I was distracted by the issue of physical appearance played a “hyped up” role in identity.  All that time and energy directed toward something I was really not in control of could have been invested in cello playing, writing or reading a good book.

I’m also keenly aware that I still care more than I would like to – I exercise now with the goal of building and keeping muscle/strength but aesthetics still has some play in my intentions.

Our culture idolizes the young, which is silly because being young is fleeting and not based on wisdom or experience. It’s just dumb luck.