| Everyone at one time or another has heard of or | | | | we can use something specific... something |
| read haiku poems. This ancient Japanese art form | | | | present moment to complete this haiku:winter |
| has been around for a very long time. And with | | | | morning --ice crystalshang off the pine |
| good reason! | | | | Notice how the phrase actually "completes" the |
| It's a very beautiful and elegant poetic expression. | | | | fragment so to speak. They go together to |
| With just a few words, the haiku poet can create | | | | create what some poets call an absolute |
| a present moment - a snapshot of nature or an | | | | metaphor. That's not important. What is important |
| event taking place. No other poetry can do this | | | | is learning how to create phrases for in this your |
| with such economy, nor with such elegance! | | | | success as a haiku poet rests. Creating phrases |
| To create haiku poems, you must understand | | | | has everything to do with creating what haiku |
| what it is and how it is written today. No longer | | | | poet Ray Rasmussen has called "first order mind |
| bound by the 5-7-5 syllable rule, modern haiku | | | | sense impressions." |
| poetry uses something called phrase and | | | | That is, to create a present moment or an event |
| fragments theory to create with. This is a lot | | | | about a present moment, you need to be able to |
| simpler than it sounds. It just means that most | | | | write in the present moment. To practice this, it's |
| haiku composed in the west uses a sentence | | | | a good idea to first read haiku you enjoy by |
| fragment - usually something like "winter morning" | | | | others. Soak in their style and what they do. Then |
| to set the mood or ambiance. | | | | once you have an idea of the kind of things you |
| This is followed by a more complete phrase. For | | | | want to write about, start writing your own haiku |
| example, with a fragment like "winter morning," | | | | poems. |