#haikuforhealing

Mary Lee Hahn has a #haikuforhealing project floating around the internets for the month of December. I’m unlikely to write a haiku every day of the month (okay…guaranteed not to as today is December 2.)  Although I like brevity, I’m never certain about what makes a good haiku. But I’ll try to write a few. Every day since November 9th I have awoken feeling anxious and discouraged. Time spent outside with the hound helps. Maybe hound haiku will help some more?

with each new scent
paws bound in joyful pursuit–
breathing the moment
–Buffy Silverman

Bridget Magee celebrates the Poetry Friday community at her blog, Wee Words for Wee Ones. Visit Bridget for today’s roundup.

12 thoughts on “#haikuforhealing

  1. Hi, Buffy–are you hanging in there, breathing the moment with your hound? Outside is definitely the place to be, despite the feeling that outside is under threat. Wait, let ME breathe the moment…

  2. Perfect! Walking the dog is as therapeutic for me as for the dog. The short time I spend outside at the park is part of my daily healing. Oh, the talks I’ve had in that park….in my head, with the dog, outloud to the sky and to the trees. You give me a good haiku challenge….to write about walking the dog!

  3. Dogs are wonderful and unassuming and a great subject!

    As for what makes a good haiku, besides brevity, I think it is better to stay away from telling the reader how to feel. For instance, instead of “joyful pursuit,” if you capture the dog’s exuberance in words such as you’ve done with “bound,” then the tag “joyful” is unnecessary. Also, poetic devices (simile/metaphor) are not needed–things are what they are and the reader can decide what something may be like. These are only suggestions. Have fun!

  4. Yes to outdoors, yes to breathing the moment. That’s how we’ll get by/get through — one breath at a time.

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