Tag / Japanese Poetry

by Colette

Inkblots Poetry Spotlight

ripples_water_leaves

Ripples of the mind…
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons

Written by Blue-Eyed Devil

[I]
One small question tugs at the mind

And I fear that the answer revealed would be bad.

Am I a mad man at play being sane

Or a sane man feigning being mad?

[II]

Still waters sighing

As tears of gods that crash down

Ripples peace of mind.

[III]

Lightning strike thunders.

Staggering, gripping the fists,

Storm too slow to pass.

This small selection of poems were created by one author – our Haiku Hero, Blue-Eyed Devil – but this time we’re mixing up his writing a little by adding in a short poem with two haiku. Don’t worry, you can still sit back and have your brew while we give you a minute to read, ponder and decipher his mad scribblings, but just with a new snazzy title that puts his work in the spotlight. Plus, you wouldn’t really forgive us if we snuck in a short poem with two Haiku and labelled it as “Haiku Selection V”, would you? If you enjoyed this and haven’t checked out his other Haiku, make sure you take a gander at ‘Haiku Selection IV‘. 

by Colette

Three-Minute Reads: Haiku Selection IV

green-tea

Here’s some green tea to accompany this month’s Haiku Selection.

We are nearing the end of April, and also the end of the day, so what better way to spend your time than reading Haiku while drinking a hot cup of tea? And it doesn’t just have to be Yorkshire Tea or Earl Grey Tea or the classic English Tea, it could just as easily be some green tea – we like to keep our options open at Inkblots.

As always, we’ve picked an absolute stellar of a selection for all your Haiku needs, and we’ve even picked three that work together as a whole as well as individually. Can you spot the recurring theme or ongoing narrative within this selection?

So, without further adieu, you have one minute to read, another to ponder and one extra to decipher. Continue reading →

by Colette

Three-minute reads – Haiku Selection III

These Haiku posts just give us an excuse to look for pictures of tea and biscuits! Mmmm… cream tea.
Image Courtesy of blog.englishtrackers.com

The warmth of Spring is finally in the air! Here in the UK, we’ve had a sunshine-filled day, and it is more than welcome, what with having to battle a weird string of blitzing, wintry winds and (more than usual) lots of snow. Well, we didn’t get as much as Canada, but by heck we sure moaned about it. Hey, that’s what we Brits do best (unfortunately)!

So, with a spring in our step – and hopefully yours – we’ve got another selection of Haiku to bring you today. I’ve specially picked these three poems as they seem to tell a story, what that story is, however, you will have to figure out yourself. With many interpretations to seek, or gather, you have one minute to read, another to ponder and one extra to decipher – so get cracking! Continue reading →

by Colette

Three-minute reads – Haiku II

Ah, that certainly hits the spot.
Image Courtesy of tryingmypatients.com

Working today and time for another break? Or are you feeling warm and cosy this Sunday afternoon, curled up on the sofa watching Christmas films? Whatever you’re doing, make sure you spare some time for this month’s selection of our three-minute Haiku.

You have a minute to read, a minute to ponder and a minute to decipher for each of them. That’s only nine minutes in total – perfect for a tea break.

Our selection is a little darker this month, but the second does promise snow, just not the one you’d hoped for.  Continue reading →

by Colette

Three-minute reads – Haiku

Our three-minute reads give you the perfect excuse to have a cuppa.
Image Courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk

A selection of three Haiku to enjoy over a brew and biscuit, which should take you approximately three minutes for each.

  • One minute to read
  • One minute to ponder
  • And one minute to decipher

For those readers who aren’t familiar with Haiku, they are a Japanese short form of poetry consisting of five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the final. Although we traditionally classify the 5-7-5 pattern as syllables, they are often referred to ‘on’ or ‘morae’ in Japan, which can lead to a different syllabic pattern.
Our selection of three-minute reads are below: Continue reading →