Creative writing prompts for teens: Japanese wabi-sabi and nature poems

You may have  noticed that the past posts have deviated from the original intention of this blog which was to showcase my poetry and creative writing and to offer tips for aspiring writers. So, in an effort to make money from writing, I shared articles I'd written. Because poetry doesn't always pay the bills like NF.

So with that said, I'm planning to turn my focus back to the fine arts. I'm still poor and still need to make money so feel free to send large amounts. I jest. But I do promise not to cheapen the craft with the trade-writing. Sorry, to wax verbose but the moon is full and I felt a disclaimer was needed. So here's are helps for teen writers on Japanese poems using the art of wabi-sabi, just in time for April.

Why April? It's National Poetry Month. Some writers celebrate NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writer Month (an online poetry slam lollapalooza) . And what better month to celebrate poems than April with spring awakening, nature busting out all over and Earth Day nestled in? Want to join the poem-penning but don't know where to begin? Here are poetry writing prompts, story starters and word games I invented, to call forth your inner bard! Perfect for homeschooler parents, English and creative writing teachers.

Verse-adventure: Hands-down, there's no better poetry muse than mama
nature. Get outside and start your poem quest. Pack a bag with pen, paper, thesaurus and blanket. You could write on laptop or phone, but old school pen and paper are more conducive to getting poetry juices flowing. Quill and parchment would be best) Station yourself in a garden. Walk in the woods. Sit on the beach. Observe the elements: wind, sun, water. Notice the flora and fauna: trees, flowers, animals, land formations. Jot down sensory details--colors, sounds, smells, shapes. Check your thesaurus for new, fresh words to express ideas.

Japanese still life poem: In Japan, artists look for wabi-sabi or beauty in simplicity and imperfection. Artists focus on simple subjects: bonsai tree, a vase with a single flower, cherry blossom sprig or pussy willow frond. The artist uses pen or brush strokes to evoke the essence of the subject. Japanese poetry is similarly simple--haiku has 17 syllables in lines of 5, 7 and 5. Create a Japanese still life display. Explore all aspects. Using a few words, describe the item. Write a wabi-sabi haiku, tanka or cinquain. Here are printable directions from St. Jean Elementary). Or create a formless verse in your own style.

For more writing prompts, story starters and poetry templates, visit my blog www.freeprintablelessonplans.com. 

How to Write Japanese Haiku Poems

Haiku poems are more than just 17 syllables in three lines of 5-7-5 syllabication. Many styles of Japanese poetry rely on syllable count to establish poem structure, similar to the Greek iambic or "feet" (or meter) poems. Notable are the iambic pentameter poems, composed of five lines with ten syllables each. Haiku and senryu are structured on "mora" or "on" which are similar to syllables, but not an exact correlation. "On" in Haiku and Senryu is similar to iambic feet, which are patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables. Thus haiku are cadence (rhythm) poems vs. rhyme poems, but the similarity of western poetry ends there. Use this guide to teach haiku writing or to write your own. 

Haiku are essentially nature poems and rather aesthetic. Haiku contain kireji (cutting word) and kigo (seasonal word). A true haiku contains a mood or tone shift and the kireji is the cut-off between moods. Kireji words shift the tone. As haiku is a Japanese form of poetry, the words don't translate absolutely, nor even sometimes partially to other languages. In haiku written in English for example to cutting word will depend upon the original thought expressed in the poem. Kigo would be any word referring to season or nature, often a specific plant or animal.

In Miyoshi's haiku

In storm-tossed grassland,

one leaf, one praying mantis,

tremble together.'

we see and feel the shift. Normally leaf is eaten by praying mantis. In a storm they are united against the wind, one clinging to the other for support, no longer predator and prey. Without a knowledge of Japanese, I can only guess at the kireji, but I'm thinking that it would be 'together'. The kigo are the leaf, mantis and possibly even storm. The tone doesn't come full circle and it may not be a diametric opposite, as with the praying mantis and leaf, but there is a shift in focus. Here's another well-known Haiku

Red dragonfly on

my shoulder calls me his friend.

 Autumn has arrived'

The shift here is from summer to fall. And haiku like so many aspects of Japanese life, focuses on the simple contemplation of one idea. Japanese art, floral arrangement, gardens, architecture and food reflect simplicity and purity. Haiku distill a multitude of words and thoughts into one essential verse.

When writing haiku, focus on nature and especially seasonal topics. Work that shift into the poem. To explore senryu, please see my article, Haiku vs. Senryu: Nature vs. Nurture. 

Japanese Poetry- Haiku vs. Senryu

Haiku and Senryu are Japanese poems, both of which have 17 syllables, of three lines with 5-7-5 syllabication, but the similarity ends there. Haiku are aesthetic nature poems. Haiku require a kigo or nature word (theme). Haiku have a kireji or cutting word that shifts the focus of the haiku. In 17 syllables, the haiku shifts focus. The core difference between haiku and senryu lie in the poems' differing theme or purpose. Senryu (poems written by the Japanese poet of that name) are usually cynical or darkly humorous. Senryu poke fun at the human condition. Senryu can be spoof, parody or satire poems. Senryu have no specific kireji or kigo, but as dark humor, they do often have a shift or perhaps a twist would be a better word. Senryu generally have a 'sting' in the tail. I think it behooves the would-be writer of haiku to understand how haiku and senryu differ.

  In my haiku, Popsicle Purple (which isn't the best example of nature, but perhaps season), see if you can find my shift in tone:

  Popsicle purple

  drips sticky sweet on new dress

  yahoo for summer

 Yahoo is my cutting word, cutting across the negative tone of soiled clothing and shifting to a positive view that this means summer has arrived. This poem has a bit of senryu styling as it does poke gentle fun at parents for giving a child a popsicle when she is wearing new clothes. And it pokes fun at a child's predisposition to spill, especially on new clothes. Lastly, Popsicle Purple juxtaposes a child's delight in summer, signaled by the arrival of popsicles.

  Here are other senryu.

  migrating fowl find  

  crashing on ice-covered pond  

  winter remains still

and another 

 he scales a tree to 

commune with nature

disturbing a nest of eggs

(I both can identify with and feel sorry for the poor person described here, as well as the nest of eggs. it would be like me to do something completely wrong for the right reasons.  The commentary is that when you would "commune with nature" best to check to make sure you are not endangering it in so doing._ 

The best way to describe the difference between haiku and senryu is that they represent nature vs. nurture. Nature in the Haiku is merely reflective whereas in senryu there is a bit of commentary.