Program note: new Post comin' soon to BACK Porch.
What a talented group of scribblers! Judgin' is dilemma, fer shure.
First, a hearty welcome to the newbies--impressive bunch ya' is, too, since it din't take no time fer ya' to be right up to speed.
Next, life happens, floods too. But we missed some of y'all an' hope youse gonna git your hat back in the ring next week.
Uncle an' me read through y'all's Haiku over dinner then sqabbled a bit on the nuances of Haiku--which Aunty maintains Uncle doan know nuthin' 'bout. On top of that, I tried to explain the inner journey aspect to Uncle--ah, yeah. Back an' forth we went...
An additional opinion wuz solicited from a clan-folk ( oh! Wish Granny were heah to do this--she'd have been a smashin' fun judge). All in all, judgin' be real real tough this go-around.
Okay--know ya doan wanna read a bunch a jabber about how close an' how fabulous the un-winners were. But thas' the truth: A solid half dozen entries charmed me or tug mah heart strings.
Karl's entry for journey especially yanked on me emotionally:
Starts as simple call.
Please come, we will need your help.
Missing home and hearth.
We can imagine slump of shoulders at the ring, yet, the cry for help--so human!--is an obligation an' a privilege. The journey is undertaken, still, one yearns fer home. I particularly like the experience we all have had--oh the journey is part of what forms us, yet at the end, most journeys do end at home.
Troll's Son of Samurai is another universal theme made specific in this son--the journey to self when Father looms large. Often this is a journey that cultures formally structure--think of Indian tribes wif' coming of age rituals.
Fishy's journey theme is of vocation--a call / journey one did not seek, but cannot ignore: Joan of Arc rides to save France. An' Moi's bittersweet immigration song...it, too, could not be ignored.
Fluerdeleo's mangled hearts on the road to Appomattox...
Eggy's plunge into Haiku included this evocative line: hills heavy with sage.
I luv the charm an' wit of Casey's "journey of the sole".
There wuz a dozen excellent lines includin' CoreyJo's "tinkling laughter" an' Curmudgeon's "bugs rise with the sun, Princess' "Fortune favours the heartfelt" an' RafaDe's "Darkness tries to prison me."
The admonitions in Kymmie an' Chickory's pointed reminders as well as Deep Blue's Rhapsody
How to winnow down until we had a winner?
In the end, Haiku does have a set of rules that Aunty uses fer cover.
First, of course, is the proper rhyme scheme of 5-7-5. Next is the use of Kigo, essentially a seasonal reference. Thirdly, the subkect matter is subjective but oughta have a universal ring to it--the best Haiku (accordin' to the Masters) oughta have an "aha!" moment where the reader/ listener recognizes the moment conveyed. An' a final consideration is a "cutting" --a division of the poem into two independent parts, but each enhances the other.
The entry that captured all these features, a seasonal reference, a universal "aha" an' the theme of journey--actual an' metaphorical-- a journey all thangs must make...an' whose two separate ideas be joined in the whole is worth noting for the surging energy in the first half that quiets away at the conclusion, "echoing" the subject matter of the verse, the double meaning of fall ... For these many layered features, congratulations to CZAR for this winner:
Seed, sprout, leaf, height, reach!
Struggle through heat-lengthened days,
just to fall: compost.
Czar, now ya' may choose a theme an' youse host an judge fer next week's fun.
Thanky all fer makin' this week quite a grand time!
