This is a beautiful set of Haiku! The imagery in each of them is stunning. Especially the vivid splash of that first drop of rain falling after a long drought, and the part about the butterfly and its still damp wings. That is such a lovely detail. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you. It rains so rarely in Las Vegas that I sit on our back patio and watch the drops like they are precious. Last year we went 300 days without a drop of rain.
I am a student of Haiku and Senryu. Who are your favorite writers?
The rain is beautiful to watch, for sure, and very soothing to hear. I often listen to it at night while I'm writing, and things are so still there's just the rhythmic sound of water, with nothing else to spoil its symphony. It's wonderful. Matsuo Basho is considered the greatest writer of Haiku, of course, along with Kobayashi Issa, but of the more contemporary writers who have worked with the format, Jack Kerouac is by far the most innovative in terms of structure and style, and was hugely influential in bringing Haiku to wider attention... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you, AC. We have very few days of spring weather and to have rain longer than 30 minutes is a miracle. I write something about Las Vegas almost every day. Our trees have already blossomed and have ravishing new little vivid green leaves.
That is a delightful ode to Spring, and the rhyming really makes it sing! This also holds the distinction of being the very first contribution to the Event. Yay! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
These are both great! You've captured the enjoyment of playing on a swing perfectly, and that's a wonderful celebration of the start of the Event, too. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Ahh, what a wonderful call for Spring to begin! I hope it's listening! They actually said last week we might still be getting some snow here in the UK, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet. Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Haha! What a brilliant image! Poor guy. Dangling in a tree, waiting for someone to help you down, must feel like a lifetime, too. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Actually, you forgot that you're talking to a nerd. The rocket in the Haiku is a model. The technical term is "rocket eating tree" (and the Rocket Gods control the breezes!).
Ahh, a model rocket! That's almost guaranteed to get stuck in a tree at some point, for sure! I remember getting quite a few things caught in trees myself. Usually kites! Haha... 🏯🪁😎🪁🏯
For sure. In a parallel universe, I got my frisbees back and the skateboard that went down the storm drain. I wasn't going after IT, if you know what I mean.
That's a fun one! Strangely enough, I did just launch a new book a few days ago. Hopefully, that one will count, though, and somebody will read it! Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
That is a wonderful interpretation of the prompt! It really is like a fusillade sometimes, especially when the hailstones start coming down! They seem to be getting bigger and bigger these days. Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
It's amazing how movies can have that effect, and instantly snap us back to a specific moment in time, and evoke memories of the people we were with. It's a form of time travel, in a way, just like songs are, and it's a very powerful thing. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
This is an excellent piece of work! I love how this could represent a child, aspiring to be an astronaut, but it could also be someone older, dreaming of a life beyond this world. Very nicely done... 🏯😎🏯
Thanks! It's been absolutely wonderful to see so many great writers joining in, and doing such amazing things with this Prompt. It really has gone in an incredible amount of different directions... 🏯😎🏯
That's a fantastic interpretation of the Prompt! A baby being launched into the world, and all the infinite potential that represents, is almost certainly the most significant and meaningful launch of all. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
First drop hits my face—
desert sky finally breaks,
we launch into joy.
*
Butterfly emerges,
Wings still damp from chrysalis—
First flight awaits her.
*
Spring buds crack open,
Green fingers stretch toward the sky—
Earth's silent whisper.
*
Salmon leaps upstream,
Against current, toward birthplace—
Life's circle complete.
***
for Chris J. Franklin
Author of
HOUSE OF HAIKU
This is a beautiful set of Haiku! The imagery in each of them is stunning. Especially the vivid splash of that first drop of rain falling after a long drought, and the part about the butterfly and its still damp wings. That is such a lovely detail. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you. It rains so rarely in Las Vegas that I sit on our back patio and watch the drops like they are precious. Last year we went 300 days without a drop of rain.
I am a student of Haiku and Senryu. Who are your favorite writers?
The rain is beautiful to watch, for sure, and very soothing to hear. I often listen to it at night while I'm writing, and things are so still there's just the rhythmic sound of water, with nothing else to spoil its symphony. It's wonderful. Matsuo Basho is considered the greatest writer of Haiku, of course, along with Kobayashi Issa, but of the more contemporary writers who have worked with the format, Jack Kerouac is by far the most innovative in terms of structure and style, and was hugely influential in bringing Haiku to wider attention... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you, AC. We have very few days of spring weather and to have rain longer than 30 minutes is a miracle. I write something about Las Vegas almost every day. Our trees have already blossomed and have ravishing new little vivid green leaves.
Wow! Fabulous quartet.
Launching into Spring
I soar, I fly, nature sings
Death has lost its sting.
That is a delightful ode to Spring, and the rhyming really makes it sing! This also holds the distinction of being the very first contribution to the Event. Yay! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
An Easter hymn with that last line!
I love this one!
Ooooo! Wish I'd thought of this!
Crowd waits with tension
waiting if new product is
a force or a farce
I love the alliteration in that last line there. "A force or a farce." It's a fantastic flourish to finish on! Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Ooooo! Yes! Another great use of the word.
Pumping furiously
She elevates the swing higher
Launching for distance
and
Chris Franklin launches
House of Haiku Poetry
Aims for cyberspace
These are both great! You've captured the enjoyment of playing on a swing perfectly, and that's a wonderful celebration of the start of the Event, too. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Wonderful duet!
heave this winter cold
weight of silent frigid sleep
launch spring's vibrant light
Ahh, what a wonderful call for Spring to begin! I hope it's listening! They actually said last week we might still be getting some snow here in the UK, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet. Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Another good 'un.
thank you!
When the thrusters fire,
your spine tightens with worry,
clings to the old earth.
This is an excellent exploration of how astronauts must feel, as they leave Earth behind. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Thanks, and thanks for hosting!
🏯😎👍🏯
Into the vast sky
Freefalling—breaths held in awe
Clouds cradle the thrill
Very nice! That captures the thrill of leaping out of a plane, and into the open sky, perfectly. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Aaaaaaaah!
Launch without problem
Chute deploys at apogee
Drifts to top of tree
🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
Haha! What a brilliant image! Poor guy. Dangling in a tree, waiting for someone to help you down, must feel like a lifetime, too. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Actually, you forgot that you're talking to a nerd. The rocket in the Haiku is a model. The technical term is "rocket eating tree" (and the Rocket Gods control the breezes!).
Ahh, a model rocket! That's almost guaranteed to get stuck in a tree at some point, for sure! I remember getting quite a few things caught in trees myself. Usually kites! Haha... 🏯🪁😎🪁🏯
Lol! Somehow made me think of a kid in the back yard with one of those army parchute toys.
Heh. Those poor guys never got down out of the tree!
Yeah, stuck up there with the kite and frisbees. Wait, the frisbees are on the roof.
We must have grown up in parallel universes. 😉
For sure. In a parallel universe, I got my frisbees back and the skateboard that went down the storm drain. I wasn't going after IT, if you know what I mean.
Skateboards weren't popular in the dark ages when I grew up - did you really go down the storm drain to retrieve it?
==
unscheduled rapid
disassembly's what's waitin'
you go on my craft
==
still n' all it's brave
(per ardua ad astra)
to step on, strap in
==
no one can question
the balls you got to venture,
just the brains of it
==
These connect together brilliantly, and tell a great story. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Quite a trio!
If you launch a book
and nobody reads the thing,
does it really count?
That's a fun one! Strangely enough, I did just launch a new book a few days ago. Hopefully, that one will count, though, and somebody will read it! Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Yes! Hee! Very clever take on the prompt.
Two thousand and one
A holy jumping off place
The countdown is now
This is great! The countdown definitely is now, for quite a lot of things. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
A thunderclap bomb
Soon fusillades of raindrops
Launched by angry clouds 🌧️
It’s raining pretty hard here today.
That is a wonderful interpretation of the prompt! It really is like a fusillade sometimes, especially when the hailstones start coming down! They seem to be getting bigger and bigger these days. Haha! Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Your’re welcome! This was fun😊!
🏯😎👍🏯
2001 film
Old boy friend took me to it.
No longer around
It's amazing how movies can have that effect, and instantly snap us back to a specific moment in time, and evoke memories of the people we were with. It's a form of time travel, in a way, just like songs are, and it's a very powerful thing. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you, Chris, for the opportunity !
🏯😎👍🏯
My mind stretches up
The stars are waiting for me
My body soon follows
This is an excellent piece of work! I love how this could represent a child, aspiring to be an astronaut, but it could also be someone older, dreaming of a life beyond this world. Very nicely done... 🏯😎🏯
Certainly open to interpretation. This was a great prompt - a word that could have a variety of applications, as shown in the comments.
Thanks! It's been absolutely wonderful to see so many great writers joining in, and doing such amazing things with this Prompt. It really has gone in an incredible amount of different directions... 🏯😎🏯
@Chris J. Franklin , my
Launch Haiku
______________
First, you get a push
then you're thrown into the world,
and new life is born
That's a fantastic interpretation of the Prompt! A baby being launched into the world, and all the infinite potential that represents, is almost certainly the most significant and meaningful launch of all. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯
Thank you Chris
🏯😎👍🏯
Anticipation
The roar of the crowd's delight
Destination up!
The way this one uses just one word in the first line is really great. It definitely does build anticipation. Thanks for joining in... 🏯😎🏯