Welcome to the fourth haiku contest!
The theme for this week is warm again. As spring comes I think many people sigh with relief "ahhh finally I can go outside and not be freezing". The warmer temperature may be the most welcome thing about spring for many people. For you on the under side of the globe, we can flip it and do getting colder, which may not be as terribly welcome as warmth, but at least you have the colored leaves to look forward to.
Take that theme and run with it. Give me a great haiku using it. Also keep in mind that haiku traditionally reflect the current season in some way. That would be spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere and autumn for those in the southern hemisphere.
By the way, if you missed any of the previous contests, I encourage you to go read the entries in the first and second, and third contests. They were all pretty great.
Haiku Contest Rules
(please read carefully)
Upvote and Resteem this post. Some of you didn't resteem last time. Please do, so that more people can see and hopefully join.
Write a haiku.
- Post it in the comments to this post
- Make your own post with the haiku and a link to this post
You may include a title or a headnote. A headnote is a short bit of text that sets the scene for the haiku. Some haiku poets use them (Basho and Shiki did) and some don't. You may also include a photo if you want.
No syllable requirement, just keep it short. Aim for one breath. You can read my thoughts on syllable counts in English haiku here.
- Nor does it have to be three lines. See my thoughts here.
In addition to the theme for this contest, it should have some kind of reference to nature and have a juxtaposition of images. I write should not must. If you think your haiku is strong enough to do without, go for it. I am not stuck in tradition and I welcome new creative ideas.
Consider this quote from Jack Kerouac:
[A] Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.
Have at it!
(Psst—If you are stuck for ideas, go read some of the translated haiku in my Haiku of Japan series. Here is the latest with links to previous ones at the end, or follow the haiku tag here on Steemit)
I encourage you to tell your friends on Discord or steemit chat. The more people we can get involved here, the more fun we can have. It makes it tougher for me to judge, but I consider that a good problem to have.
Sample
Here is a haiku I used in the article referenced above.
evening
snow beating down
my son is snoring
You can see I give a nod to the season, and there is also a shift in the action as we move from the scene (lines 1 and 2) to my son.
Another Sample
This one, a classic from Buson:
on the temple bell
sleeping
a butterfly
You can read more about that haiku here.
An American Haiku Sample
And here is one of my favorites from Jack Kerouac:
No telegram today
only more leaves
fell.
Close Date and Prizes
Contest will go for 7 days, so that means the final day you can submit is next Thursday the 22nd (Japan time).
Special thanks to The Isle of Write—a really swell place to workshop any kind of writing or just to hang out and chat—which donated 10 SBD for use in this contest. With their contribution, the prizes will be:
- 5 SBD for first place
- 3.5 SBD for second place
- 2 SBD for third place
- 2 SBD in the pot for an honorable mentions or two
I will be the sole judge.
Have fun!