Sarah is a British eccentric who writes offbeat fiction, haiku and tanka poetry. When stuck for words, she sketches or paints instead. She's into nature conservation, sustainability, gardening, dogs, natural health, and reading. Her sociability is something that happens in short bursts with long breathing spaces in between.
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3 thoughts on “A behavioural haiku”
So pleased that you don’t feel obliged to conform to the Western view that a haiku must have seventeen syllables. It doesn’t, of course. This one has just the number that it needs, and I like it very much.
That was unintentional those extra syllables in the last line. Thanks for pointing it out:-) I will now remove the two words ‘to come’ this minute. It means the same, and I do like to keep to the rules.
Today, I thought of a haiku, but am trying to decide if the word “territory” is classed as three or four syllables. On paper it is four, but most people say it “terri’try”.
You didn’t really have to change it. There are no rules about syllables in Japan. A haiku is just a short poem.
According to the Oxford Spelling Dictionary, the -ory bit of “territory” appears to be one syllable. I would probably count it as two. Difficult one. “When in doubt, don’t” often being a useful guide for me, I would try to find another way of saying it. Which is capitulation before a problem. You might be made of sterner stuff than I!
Sarah Potter Writes 
So pleased that you don’t feel obliged to conform to the Western view that a haiku must have seventeen syllables. It doesn’t, of course. This one has just the number that it needs, and I like it very much.
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That was unintentional those extra syllables in the last line. Thanks for pointing it out:-) I will now remove the two words ‘to come’ this minute. It means the same, and I do like to keep to the rules.
Today, I thought of a haiku, but am trying to decide if the word “territory” is classed as three or four syllables. On paper it is four, but most people say it “terri’try”.
LikeLike
You didn’t really have to change it. There are no rules about syllables in Japan. A haiku is just a short poem.
According to the Oxford Spelling Dictionary, the -ory bit of “territory” appears to be one syllable. I would probably count it as two. Difficult one. “When in doubt, don’t” often being a useful guide for me, I would try to find another way of saying it. Which is capitulation before a problem. You might be made of sterner stuff than I!
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