This is a photo of Simon's very small container pond. Can you spot what is hiding in amongst the plant life?
As I am a haiku poet this image resonates with me, as the master of haiku Basho is famous for having written the following:
The old pond:
A frog jumps in, --
The sound of water.
Now in my creative writing class this had mixed reviews. Some people liked it, others didn't. What do you think?
I like it. You may ask why. Ok, I can imagine sitting near this old pond and hearing the splash as the frog jumps in. This may seem underwhelming to some of you, but it is eloquent in its articulation of a single moment in time, of the ephemerality of lived experience. This poem is also visual and auditory in that there is sound. However, what the sound is is not described, this is left to you as the reader to imagine. That is key in haiku, to leave space for the reader to imagine for themselves.
Here is another poem, this time by a favourite of mine - Issa. His writing appeals to me as it there is a playful lightness of touch, and the following 9 syllables convey so much:
The frog
Looks at me, --
But with a sour face.
That makes me smile. A grumpy frog. Well, have you ever seen a frog that is smiling?
Here is my attempt:
Leap year...
the frog
dives in
Ok, so I wrote that a while back now, and again I am using humour, as this is the one day in four that we ladies can propose to men (if we are traditionalists).
Thanks for reading!
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