Two of my haiku from the June 2010 issue of Blue Berry Haiku have been chosen as top picks.
The following is an excerpt from its official announcement.
"For our final spot, we had two haiku that we simply couldn't decide between, both by the same poet. So, we are deeming both of them winners.
butterflies
wing over cherry petals --
shadows embracing
by Chen-ou Liu
MPH: We love this haiku for so many reasons. First, we admire the use of “wing” as a verb, since the actual butterfly wing, a noun, and its shape are essential to the themes and imagery of the poem: the shape of the wing and its shadow and of the petal and its shadow are shown by the poet to be so similar, akin, as the shadows meet under the cherry tree in a sweet embrace. And, in the same way that the shadows match and embrace, so, too, the letters and sounds of the poem do in an aural and visual alliteration.
The relationship between things and their shadows becomes an interchangeable simile for letters and their sounds: the r's and s's in all three lines, and the ing's and long o's in lines two and three. Of course, the theme of the essential one-ness of all things is another layer in the poem, the plant and insect here shown by the poet as one in that fleeting moment in which their identities cannot be separated, in that moment when the two merge on the broad face of Spring's renewed earth.
~~~
on maple leaves
glittering raindrops gather --
floating worlds
by Chen-ou Liu
GL: We were all enchanted by the imagery of this haiku. The idea of mini floating worlds sent our imaginations soaring. Upon reading it, I visualize the calm moment after rain has subsided, with sunshine reflecting off raindrops which have gathered on leaves.
At first I imagined this as a summer haiku, with the leaves still in the trees, but the floating worlds could also be interpreted to mean the leaves are falling gently to the ground, or perhaps the raindrops are gathering on the newly-fallen leaves. Autumn colors also add vibrancy to the image. An outstanding haiku."
The following is an excerpt from its official announcement.
"For our final spot, we had two haiku that we simply couldn't decide between, both by the same poet. So, we are deeming both of them winners.
butterflies
wing over cherry petals --
shadows embracing
by Chen-ou Liu
MPH: We love this haiku for so many reasons. First, we admire the use of “wing” as a verb, since the actual butterfly wing, a noun, and its shape are essential to the themes and imagery of the poem: the shape of the wing and its shadow and of the petal and its shadow are shown by the poet to be so similar, akin, as the shadows meet under the cherry tree in a sweet embrace. And, in the same way that the shadows match and embrace, so, too, the letters and sounds of the poem do in an aural and visual alliteration.
The relationship between things and their shadows becomes an interchangeable simile for letters and their sounds: the r's and s's in all three lines, and the ing's and long o's in lines two and three. Of course, the theme of the essential one-ness of all things is another layer in the poem, the plant and insect here shown by the poet as one in that fleeting moment in which their identities cannot be separated, in that moment when the two merge on the broad face of Spring's renewed earth.
~~~
on maple leaves
glittering raindrops gather --
floating worlds
by Chen-ou Liu
GL: We were all enchanted by the imagery of this haiku. The idea of mini floating worlds sent our imaginations soaring. Upon reading it, I visualize the calm moment after rain has subsided, with sunshine reflecting off raindrops which have gathered on leaves.
At first I imagined this as a summer haiku, with the leaves still in the trees, but the floating worlds could also be interpreted to mean the leaves are falling gently to the ground, or perhaps the raindrops are gathering on the newly-fallen leaves. Autumn colors also add vibrancy to the image. An outstanding haiku."
