Poetry Play Thursday – Short & Sweet

Welcome to PPT!  (That sounds like a home pregnancy test!)

I’d like to thank Genie, Lucy and Pamela for helping out with our renga poem from last week.  Here’s where it’s at right now:

a wispy violet feather
tucked between her breasts
bounced gaily as she strolled the walk

    intensely she looked away
    ignoring the gentle play

the jealous wind
tugged upon her precious prize;
she could no call it back.

    buoyed by new found freedom,
    it flitted just out of reach

It sounds great so far but I think we can do more with it.  I’m going to keep this open until the end of the month so if you’d like to add to our renga, please post your stanza in our comments.  Remember, the stanzas are 3 lines, 2 lines, 3 lines, 2 lines and so on…

Now, on to this week’s poetry form. 

Senryu (or Human Haiku)

A senryu is like a traditional haiku in that it is 3 lines long and holds 17 syllables, 5-7-5.  (Modern hybrid haiku can have varying lengths.)  It distinguishes itself from the haiku by focusing on humannature or human artifacts and has no reference to the natural world or seasons.  Both senryu and haiku can have humor.  Here are examples of haiku and senryu:

                        HAIKU                                                                  SENRYU

               at the ancient pond                                              soft, sultry whispers     
               a frog plunges into                                               tickle the skin and ruffle
               the sound of water                                               the senses, desire

               ~ Basho                                                                ~ Pamela Sweet

Some people will write a stand-alone senryu or put several together for a longer poem.  It’s your choice.  You know you’ve been waiting for a form like this, so here’s your chance to blow us away with your spectacular senryu! 

I hope you’ll give this fun poetry form a try and consider sharing it with us by posting it in the comments section, adding your name and URL in the Mr. Linky below, or leaving a link in our comments to where you’ve posted it at your blog or website.  Have fun!  (and don’t forget to claim your place in history by adding to our Texty Ladies renga! ;) ) 

P.S.  If you haven’t yet checked out the poem entries for our Poetry Contest, just click on the “Contest Entries” tab on the very top of our site or at the top of our sidebar OR you can simply click here.  It’s going to be so difficult choosing the winners!

NOTE:  If you read this post before 6:00 a.m. Thursday, April 16th, my senryu was completely mangled due to the late hour and my state of alertness.  It has since been corrected. 

~ Pamela

Tags: haiku, poem, Poetry, Poetry Play Thursday, renga, senryu