Poetry Thursday - Haiku Healing

I read an article recently about the healing effect of poetry writing, in particular the Haiku.

The article tells of a guy living in New York who was constantly aggravated by the (unnecessary) honking of car horns. His first response was one of rage and so he threw eggs at the car, making the situation worse. But on reflection he decided to articulate his anger and frustration in a Haiku poem, or as he calls them a "honku"! Much better for the blood pressure!

The article goes on to say how calming reading poetry can be and that "the act of putting down our thoughts is emotionally stimulating". It also talks about a woman who had mini strokes causing neurological and mild cognitive problems, whose healing received a boost through writing poetry, due to the "workout", or mental discipline her brain received while composing. "Haiku trains the mind to see the little things in life, instead of obsessing about war, death, ageing, pain and the stress of making a living".

Haiku poems are meaningful yet compact and contain 17 syllables, traditionally five in the first line, seven in the second line and five in the third. A Haiku doesn't rhyme.

I have written verse and prose and have wanted to have a go at Haiku ever since my son brought his Poetry homework home in his first year of High School - I took finding this article as a nudge in the Haiku direction! Here are a few of my first attempts. They're harder to create than they look, but it's kinda fun, and like doing any puzzle, it becomes easier with practice.

cold rain falling down
wet shaggy dog shakes water
puddles surround me


summer heat burning
swimming pool water splashing
cooling refreshing


fallen trees block paths
strong winds blow dark storm clouds south
calm quiet morning