poetree

One of my favorite poetry formats is haikai (alternating verses of 5-7-5 and 7-7), or more specifically haikai no renga, which today is known more simply as renku. It is a form of collaborative Japanese linked verse poetry; the more well known form (in English) haiku comes from taking the first verse of a haikai in isolation. I like haikai because I usually write them in collaboration with one or more other poets (with some exceptions), and the strict syllable count for each verse limits its length, making it more likely someone else will take the time to respond.

Since I joined Dreamwidth, I've worked on three different haiku/haikai-related projects. The first is a set of threads over at

dw_codesharing where I offer an invitation code to anyone willing to write a haiku about why they want to join Dreamwidth; I also write a haiku in return that plays off whatever themes and imagery the first haiku introduces. You can find the original thread at the second codes wanted post and a followup thread on the current codes wanted post (#3); some of the exchanges are really lovely.

The second project is an offshoot of the first: a comm specifically for Dreamwidth-related haiku/haikai:

dreamwidth_haikai. Of especial note there is

alee_grrl's piece snow-tinged dreaming, which has some wonderful continuations in the comments; my piece Letters to the Dreaming World, which was featured in a

dw_news post last September; and a series of pieces for the second

three_weeks_for_dw (3W4DW) anniversary fest.

Today's poem is from the third project, the 2011 April Haiku/Haikai Fest that I hosted on my journal

jjhunter. In celebration of National Poetry Month, I posted an original poem seed every day for a month and invited others to continue the poem in the comments. 'Blue' is from April 8th; blockquotes are verses written by

alee_grrl while lines not in blockquotes were written by me.

Blue
color is pigment
here: a homemade pastel of
concentrated sky

cobalt and sapphire hued glass
spark-sunlight off mountain lakes

lapis lazuli
ocean on open ocean
clothes Mary richly

Speckled shells of powder blue peek
from the nest-a hint of spring.

Such color in hues
so varied words sometimes fail.
We try anyway

to catch the beauty before
us. So rich a world have we.