Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Tuesday Poetry Stretch - Hay(na)ku

We tried this form back in 2009, so it's time to dig it out and try again! The hay(na)ku and was created in 2003 by poet Eileen Tabios. Here are the guidelines.
Hay(na)ku is a 3-line poem of six words with one word in the first line, two words in the second, and three in the third. There are no other rules and no restrictions on number of syllables or rhyme.
Need some examples? You can find some Hay(na)ku poetry contest winners at the Hay(na)ku Poetry blog. There is also a thoughtful essay about the form at Dragoncave. As you'll see from the examples, some folks create poems comprised of several hay(na)ku strung together. 

So, what kind of hay(na)ku will you write? Leave me a note about your poem and I'll share the results here later this week.

8 comments:

  1. Okay--I'm down with this, people...

    hay(na)ku

    looking
    at the
    shape of things

    i
    wonder what
    a hay(na)ku is…

    does
    it let
    you tell stories

    or
    paint pictures
    or does it

    simply
    allow you
    to write short?


    (c) juliekrantz, 2011

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hearts

    1.
    Hearts
    do not
    hang like apples.


    2.
    They
    do not
    hang like icicles.


    3.
    Nor
    are they
    hung on walls.


    3.
    But
    if things
    all go wrong,


    4.
    hearts
    hang from
    twisted rope nooses


    5.
    like
    dead highwaymen
    at the crossroads.

    ©2011 Jane Yolen all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  3. when I realized

    that
    same day
    but much later


    Heidi Mordhorst 2011
    all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jane--stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, Jane! (Wow.)

    *********

    Day

    day
    breaks like
    a fallen glass

    I
    scurry, tremble
    blurt and rush

    till
    the deer
    in the backyard

    (recurring
    characters who
    stare and stare

    like
    a Greek
    chorus of eyes)

    tell
    me I've
    forgotten to look

    at
    a leaf,
    at the dawn

    --Kate Coombs, 2011
    all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love this form and all that you have offered. Jane's leaves me breathless...

    POETRY CLUB

    Today
    poetry club
    our first meeting.

    Fifth
    graders gathered
    searching for words.

    Will
    introduce poets
    to curious hay(na)ku.

    Wonder
    what beauties
    huddle within them.

    © Carol Weis, all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  7. for getting to look

    "at
    a leaf,
    at the dawn"

    about sums up how much poetry (and writing in general) is about observation. We need to see, to breathe in the world, so as to get to what Dickinson described in her snake poem as "zero at the bone."

    Thanks, Kate, and all.

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  8. AMANI THE GREAT

    My
    niece Amani
    received straight A's.

    Her goal is
    reporting weather forecasts.

    According
    Mrs. Green
    Her favorite teacher,

    She
    predicts for
    Amani's immediate future,

    "Sunshine
    with a
    high of PERFECT."

    Charles Waters (C) 2011 all rights reserved.

    ReplyDelete