Butterfly Challenge

[Brigid Briton]

OK, here's a new challenge for you. Write a haiku about a butterfly that someone would know is about a butterfly, without mentioning the word!

Here's an example,

rice-paper wings
open and close
to rhythm of spring

[Reilley]

Drinking nectar sips
with a curled and feathered tongue,
my, how she has changed.

[Brigid Briton]

Awesome, Reilley!

What about the rest of you? Surely there must be more butterfly aficionados out there!



Brigid

[eiken]

spring picnic
a red admiral’s soft touch
on my hand

[Fire Monkey]

I think you did well.

[Brigid Briton]

eiken and Judy,

Good ones! Fire Monkey: got haiku?



Brigid

[Fire Monkey]

I'm afraid, Brigid, that I rarely do haiku - I do enjoy reading a good haiku but I don't normally write them.

To me, haiku is like a fine hors d'oeuvre - it is a wonderful thing to have and enjoy and it sets up the appetite for what might come after. As such I enjoy them, but I am more a creator of entrées or sometimes a main course [hope the culinary reference is ok - I happen to love cooking and sometimes find that describing things in terms of the courses of a meal can be helpful - well, it helps me anyway ;D]

I value all the parts of a fine banquet of words, but I am drawn to the creation of certain parts more than others.

[Brigid Briton]

Hi Tim,

While I can't agree that haiku are merely an appetizer, since, if done well a haiku can pack all the punch of a much longer piece~in a more "Zen" way, I'm also wondering about why you couldn't still participate in a haiku challenge. If you were in a cooking contest, where the entrants were asked to prepare everything from appetizers, to soup, salad, main course and dessert, would you say, "sorry, I'll only prepare the main course"? This isn't a contest, of course...it's a challenge.

The whole idea of the Come Out and Play section is to play with forms and ideas you might not be familiar with, or even like. It's simply an exercise. No one's going to force you (or try to force you) to write a haiku. It's about stretching ourselves a bit and having some fun.

I would love to see what you come with, haiku-wise, but it looks like it's not meant to be!



Brigid

[Fire Monkey]

I have posted a haiku - I did one in the coffee challenge, ;D it isn't that I don't ever write them, it just isn't the thing for me - I am a person of many words rather than one of few.

I think you have misunderstood my food analogy - I was not saying that haiku was "merely" anything - I was saying that haiku was equal but different - the whole concept in fine dining is that food is more than just something to fill you, it is an experience to be enjoyed and as such every course is equally important - that's why I chose that analogy. I don't see haiku as a lesser form of poetry, I don't see it as a greater form either - just a different form. I know that you are a minimalist by your own statement, and I respect that, I just don't happen to be one myself.

I don't believe this modern concept that less is more - I believe that the right amount is the right amount whether that is a couple words or a couple pages. So if you find that when you write, 17 syllables or less is ideal for you, then that is the right amount; it just isn't typically the right amount for me. I hope this makes sense - I would never speak against haiku, I think they are wonderful and from time to time I do write them.

[Brigid Briton]

Hi Tim, Thanks for the clarification. Here's a modern haiku for you!

haiku
been there
done that

[Fire Monkey]

it is true I have
and sometimes I might again
hope you understand

;D

I promise that I'll post some haiku in response to challenges from time to time - after all, you have been game about my challenges.