Tag: Haiku and Related Forms

An anticipation of “March’s madness”…

On February 20th, Nigerians witnessed the launch of A Journey in Service, a memoir detailing the life of a former military ruler. Now 83, he recounts his role in what can only be summarized as the country’s downward spiral—from senseless coups and executions that ignited a civil war to an election annulment that led to further bloodshed. And yet, on that day, he and his book were celebrated by the President and former Heads of State. The gall—the insult to the common Nigerian, past and present.

February also delivered a Hollywood tragedy straight out of The X-Files—a renowned actor, his wife, and their dog, all found dead in different parts of their home. No signs of forced entry. No carbon monoxide poisoning. No definitive time of death. A mystery worthy of the strangest conspiracy theories. Oh boy – February couldn’t get any crazier could it? Well Helz Yezzz!.

February 28th! The world witnessed what can only be described as the political equivalent of The Jerry Springer Show. Leader versus world leader. Or perhaps, world leader and his team going at leader – take your pick. No fists were thrown, but the number of jaws hitting the floor that day—including mine—was staggering. A day of pride for some, a day of disgrace for others. A moment in history remembered for ????… I’ll leave you to fill in the blanks.

Now, standing in the month of Martius, I can’t help but reflect on the sheer audacity of the past few weeks—from political theater to ongoing freakishly hot Lagos weather. And so, I ask: What more could you have in store for us, O month of March named after the Roman god offf … war?!

Pantheon smiles down,

From Fields of Mars spectating

His month unfolding

Its Haibun Monday on dVerse and its all about how you interpret “March Madness”. This piece was fun for me! Based on my view of the term “March madness” I got the chance to unclog all the frustration that came with previous month of February 😁.

March is here and I personally choose to be positive and prayerful about what’s ahead.

Cheers! 🙂

Came WE to play…

First cry to shut eye
At play, “Connecting the dots”
Shaping Destiny

Beginning to end
Fitting pieces as we go
Breathing, in “Jigsaws”

A “Mortal Kombat”
With no flawless victories
…then we fade to dust

GAME OVER!!!

Its about “PUZZLES” @dVersepoets 🙂 … Hope this piece isn’t too puzzling 😉

Ligo Haibun Challenge- Dewdrops

Googled!

“…for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground, but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.” – Genesis 2:5&6

She longs to catch a glimpse of what might have been…

Rising long before the Sun,  just as creation made her, she steps out of her abode and onto the freshly cut lawn- The silent twilight greeting her.

Only moments outside, yet all too quickly her skin is wrapped in  perspiration, not of her own but Gaya’s- Fresh and cool; Wet grass embracing her feet- The total experience causing her to shiver… She’s cold. Finally bearing witness to Genesis 2:6… “The Mist that waters the face of the Earth” lay thick in the atmosphere and all around her.

She stills her naked body in the middle of the open space and is cloaked by the light fog around her; Eyes closed, she fills her lungs with Gaya’s cold breath- Embracing the silence of the slowly coming Morn.

…. In that moment she is in Eden.

Tears mix with Dewdrops...
 Insanity born from faith
 ...Her faith... her madness.
Ligo Haibun Challenge- Dewdropsligo-challenge_logo

Mosquito- Haiku

My skin, your play ground
 Your kiss- a sting! then I itch
 O Such fowl romance!

#LOVE4SKY

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Irresistible!
 Sky making love to my mind
  ...I reach for my phone








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No matter its pose
 The heavens bare such beauty
  ...even in pixels




NB: 
Both shots were taken by me 🙂 from my Blackberry, and edited on Instagram 😉
 

Catch 22 (Haiku)

 

Can't touch, won't dare touch!
Can't taste... might as well swallow
...I look, and it hurts

Life deals a joker
Set at odds with my desire
...Love is paradox

Foul Weather (Rant)

Cruel star, burning
 Renders us UV-ray scares
 Glad I've got Sun-screen!

Barbecuing sky,
 Do you like your humans crisp?
 I'm almost ready!

Nerve wrecking heat wave
 Blame it on global warming
 Feels like I'm melting!

Exactly how I feel right now! 😦

(Googled!)

Līgo Haībun Challenge ~ Picture Prompt

The BIG BAD Wolf

So I’m the BIG BAD Wolf taking my morning stroll in the forest – The forest being my natural habitat. Haven’t had breakfast yet- Might I just point out  that I’m a MEAT EATER and so its my God given right to crave flesh.

The morning is still very young and I’m yet to find befitting prey to match my hunger pangs. Then I spot “Red” wondering along in her tacky cloak- Not that the color matters much, I’m Color blind. 

She’s all alone, the defenseless little creature…

WAIT! So I’m the “BAD” Wolf for landing prey that’s coincidentally a little girl, left to roam the forest ALL ALONE while on her way to  long distance- Grand Ma’s house???!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury PLEASE! Putting all bias aside I ask you to consider this poor, hungry carnivore- Me! What would you have done in my shoes (paws), craving your daily fill of flesh and blood? If anything it should be Red’s parent’s baring that  adjective!

I’m not trying to justify what I did- eating Grammy and Red, but it was only natural. I hunt that which is of my territory- within the Forest… THEY WERE!

˜˜

Much is learnt from this
To see through another’s eyes
prejudice aside

Immerse yourself in the forest for the new picture prompt!

The Līgo Haībun Challenge ~ Prompt “Bouquet”/”Bouquet of Flowers”/”Flower”

bigstock-Beautiful-nude-female-body-sil-18840731Innocence  becomes past tense as he attempts to pluck red petals  from between her ebony thighs… His dream finally coming to fruition- to make a woman of his lover.  Dare he say, its not quite the experience he had envisaged- She claws away into his Nubian skin, screaming as he penetrates, taking his time the best he can. Tears trickle down the corners of her eyes as her body gently rocks to the motion of his love inside her.

In time he races on feverishly, drenched in perspiration- eyes shut to avoid the gory shade that probably masks his groin and surely marks the sheets … in that moment her flower is lost forever. The innocent girl he lay ever so gently on her back now raises her womanly hips to the occasion in wild ecstasy- Her body, overwhelmed by  new feelings of pain, but more pleasure bucks, reals and twists, her fingers easing off on their grip of his skin. This is where true victory lies- not in the breaking of the hymen, but to feel the wild, involuntary spasms from her virgin torso. Is there anything sweeter than this?….

˜˜
Claiming her bouquet
He thinks not of tomorrow
…She thinks forever
_____________________________________________________

 Ligo-Challenge-

Our  Līgo Haībun Challenge normally has a word limit of up to 220 words or less inc the haiku / of course more than one haiku can be used to conclude your piece.

According to Wikipedia: The term “haibun” was first used by the 17th century Japanese poet, Matsuo Bashō. Bashō was a prominent early writer of haibun, then a new genre combining classical prototypes.  He wrote some haibun as travel accounts during his various journeys, the most famous of which is Oku no Hosomichi(Narrow Road to the Interior). Bashō’s shorter haibun include compositions devoted to travel and others focusing on character sketches, landscape scenes, anecdotal vignettes and occasional writings written to honor a specific patron or event. His Hut of the Phantom Dwelling can be classified as an essay while, in Saga Nikki (Saga Diary), he documents his day-to-day activities with his disciples on a summer retreat.

Traditional haibun typically took the form of a short description of a place, person or object, or a diary of a journey or other series of events in the poet’s life. Haibun continued to be written by later haikai poets such as Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa and Masaoka Shiki.

Haibun in English

Haibun has established itself as a genre in world literature which has gained momentum in recent years.

The first contest for English-language haibun took place in 1996. The first anthology of English-language haibun was Bruce Ross‘s Journey to the Interior: American Versions of Haibun (Tuttle), published in 1998.

The haībun format here for the Līgo Haībun Challenge is as follows ~

A paragraph (more than one paragraph is fine, or just a few sentences) in prose form of either

  • a descriptive passage , or excerpt from a story/or previously published post
  • an explanation 
  • a tale
  • a travelogue
  • a news item
  • a recipe

and

  • the haiku/collection of haiku related to the text  to close

THE LIGO HAIBUN NORMALLY SHOULD BE A TOTAL 220 WORDS **OR LESS**

-if you should like please do supply an image/images to go with your post.

The most appreciated haībun (MAXIMUM of 3 per week) will get an “honourable mention in dispatches”, and all contributors will be featured in the weekly Līgo Editions Paper circulated online to twitter, facebook, tumblr., subscribing emails and anywhere else you’d like it to go. The link currently only features example articles.

Bloggers will regularily be invited to join Līgo Editions to form an invitation panel to recommend posts for “honourable mention.”  Current panel members – Managua Gunn, Ese, Sarah Potter

Use the vintage  Scriber badge with pride on your post or sidebar – and please do link back here on your post to help the circle widen. Below you’ll find a link to post your haībun.

Good luck!

Melt – The Līgo Haībun Challenge

4:00 P.M– Just getting off work, she races down the road and towards the Bus stop. She’s almost there, but NOT- then her bus begins to move. She arrives at the spot only to meet the butt of the vehicle fading into the corner of the street, that would mean an hour and a half of her waiting for another transit in her direction. Frustrated, she curses. Its lonely at the station so a walk in the cannabis field is the perfect remedy for her foul mood. Sitting in a waiting chair, legs crossed, she reaches into her bag for a stick; Lights it up and drags-

In goes the poison and out her frustration.

The session is almost heavenly. Melting in her seat she  tastes the evening breeze. Dreamily she pays attention as the light from her stick illuminate in the evening hue, its soft feathery haze lifting through the atmosphere;

Inhale, Exhale

Her nerves untwine as the intoxicating odor of perspiration, hers, mixed with fumes of the slowly diminishing stick fills her nostrils. Utter bliss as she sits melted in her waiting chair-  Even the wind amongst the trees offer the symphony of Handel’s Messiah… or is that just in her head? …

˜˜

From euphoric dance
  Toots from a horn break the spell  
  ...Damn reality!

__________________________________________

New Challenge for 2013 but I still have love for my people at the dVerse bar 😉

Thanks Captain!!!! 🙂

Ligo Haibun Challenge here

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***The Līgo Haībun Challenge normally has a word limit of up to 220 words or less inc the haiku***

READ ABOUT HAIBUN HERE

READ EXAMPLES OF HAIBUN HERE

Haībun is Prosimetric writing. The haībun format for the Līgo Haībun Challenge is as follows ~

A paragraph (more than one paragraph is fine,or justa few sentences) in prose form of either

  • a descriptive passage , or excerpt from a story/or previously published post 
  • a tale
  • a travelogue
  • a news item
  • a recipe

and

the haiku to close