Tuesday January 25th, 2011

The exercise:

Two haiku about: seeds.

Kat and I are in the midst of figuring out our seed order for the coming garden season. We're hoping to get it decided on and sent out before we leave on Saturday, to lessen the likelihood of the seed companies selling out of what we want.

I got about half of The Honeymoon Posts scheduled last night, and I'm hoping to get the rest done tonight.

Mine:

From this little seed
hundreds of beans will emerge -
Nature's miracle.

*     *     *

Stick them in the ground,
add water, prayer, and threats,
and then, voila! Food.

9 comments:

Greg said...

Ah, I thought it was you being Canadian and going on holiday in the middle of the week :) Happy 31-squared post!
I know I don't often comment on my characters outside of the story, but in Charles's case... I think he's always been this demented, it's just taking a while to come out.
I like your second haiku best, because that's the way I grow plants. The threats work, they really do. Sadly I have yet to find insects that speak enough English to understand threats.

Seeds
Little acorns grow,
Great oaks spread their branches wide,
Shelter me from Spring.

-----

Seeds, you said they were.
I toasted them, and served you.
They were strychnine seeds.

Watermark said...

Marc: Have a great time in Jamaica and happy honeymoon :) I like both your haikus.

Greg: I like the image in your first haiku and your second one made me smile :)

Here's mine:

Seeds

A tiny plant hides,
specks of miracles enclosed –
waiting to be seen.

***

The seed of love grows
and blossoms into a life –
together they grow.

Zhongming said...

Great work fellow writers. I’m certainly enjoying reading all of them :D

---
Here's mine,

Seeds

Habitual seeds
Accumulated – grows into
Certain character.

---

Refrain from evil ways.
Grow and learn throughout the pain.
True enlightenment.

Anonymous said...

@Marc - really liked the second one, captured the agony and ecstasy of farming.

@Greg - the second one must be from Charles.

@Watermark I like both, but especially the second as it captured the essence of a relationships. (Essence seems like my over used, but perfect word to describe a poem).

@Zhongming - I love the deep spiritual message in yours.

Here are mine:

Deep within the soil
Cocooned, waiting to emerge
Life blossoms anew

Glowing, she dials him
It’s me, our prayers have beeen answered.
Gravid pause, then smiles

morganna said...

Marc -- I already ordered my seeds for my home garden. They should be arriving any day now and I can get on with starting them indoors. Really heavy on squashes, melons, and pumpkins, which is funny because I have trouble getting them to grow. Oh, well, maybe this is the year. I had trouble with tomatoes here, but last year I figured it out and had a bumper crop (only took me 4 growing seasons). Hopefully I can do that 2 years in a row.

Anyway, I'll shut up now and get on with my haikus.

Tiny, hard promises
Green leaves awaiting the magic --
Sun, soil, and water.

Snow on the cold ground
Here comes summer in the mail
Seeds for spring planting.

Anonymous said...

@Morganna thanks for making me think of the spring on this cold snowy day

boy did I botch the 5-7-5 today in my second. Here is a version that is actually a haiku:

Glowing, she calls him
Hands on hips, she tells the news
Gravid pause, then smiles

summerfield said...

lovely haiku's from everyone.

marc, are you just going to have a short stay in toronto? time for coffee?

my haiku's are a bit cliche:

-o0o-

seeds

the seeds of hatred
they can grow like a wildfire
nip the bud right now!
--
plant the seeds of love
let it grow and fill your heart
and let peace rule us.

Marc said...

Greg - either way, Charles is fast becoming a favorite :)

I like both of yours, but the first one in particular struck a chord with me.

Watermark - two lovely haiku. I can't pick a favorite.

Zhongming - that's a fantastic second haiku. Very nicely done :)

Dumbricht - that's a grest scene you've managed to convey in your second one.

Morganna - good luck to you with your garden this year :)

Love your second haiku, very apt.

Summerfield - if time allows, I'd love to meet up for coffee. Probably not on the way through, but I'll have another look at the times coming back and let you know :)

I love the contrast between your two haiku. Very nice.

Marc said...

Summerfield - sorry, I had a migraine coming on last night while I was responding to the takes. Let me give you a better answer:

It's going to depend where in Toronto you are. We're arriving in the evening and leaving the next morning going both ways. But if you happen to live close to where we're staying it could work.

Feel free to send me an email (it's in the Contact Me page over on the left) and hopefully we can figure something out!