Archive for the ‘Haiku & Senryu’ Category
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
I’ve just discovered a new search engine that, believe it or not, does stuff that Google can’t do. It’s the newly launched Greplin, and you can read all about its young founder Daniel Gross here.
So what’s the big deal about Greplin? It indexes and lets you search stuff that’s stored up in the “cloud.” Things like your Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, G-mail, Google Docs, LinkedIn posts, business applications I’m unfamiliar with, etc.
Let’s take its Facebook interface, for instance. Just put a key word or phrase into its search box and up pops a list of your posts (and your friends’ posts) using that word or phrase. I’m finding it so handy, I even wrote this haiku:
Forecast Not Cloudy
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Greplin’s great engine
is searching what Google can’t,
and I’m on cloud nine.
Tags: Cloud Computing, Computer Software, Daniel Gross, Facebook, Gmail, Google, Greplin, Internet Humor, Linked-In, Search Engines, Technology Review, Twitter, Web Humor
Posted in Business Humor, Computer Humor, Facebook Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Internet Humor, Search Engine Tools, Social Media Humor, Technology Humor, Twitter Humor | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Today I’ve written four poems on a theme called hope. There’s a pair of quatrains, one haiku, and a limerick — something for everyone, or no one, as the case may be:
Hope springs eternal—
a “truism” some speak.
Yes, hope springs eternal,
until it springs a leak.
*****
Alexander Pope
wrote about hope.
His eternal quote
helps some folks cope.
*****
Showing up to vote—
a yearly exercise in
unrequited hope.
*****
A gal who is often caught moping
And is terribly dreadful at coping
Drives her family mad.
Things have gotten so bad,
That they’re hoping to hear she’s eloping.
*****
(Inspired by Haiku Wednesday’s hope prompt and Poets United quotation prompt. For more optimistic poems see Friday Poetically.)
Tags: Alexander Pope, Aphorism Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Funny Quotes, Hope, Moping, Optimism, Personality Verse, Quatrains, Truisms, Voting Haiku
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Aphorisms, Authors & Playwrights, Behavior & Personality, Family & Relatives Humor, Family Verse, Famous Quotes Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Limericks, Mental Health Humor, Public Figures, Quatrains Humor, Self-Help Humor, Social Satire | 35 Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Feverish hostess
serves chickpeas dropped on the floor—
a guest spills the beans.
*****
Sick party-goer
coughs and sneezes on buffet—
chilly reception.
*****
The corner bakeshop
seems a buttery temptress,
but smells can deceive.
Pastries seduce, disappoint—
buttery temptress no more.
*****
My first memory:
the sound and the vibration
of a freight train’s roar.
Budding logic says, “Can’t be.”
Sensed pre-birth within the womb?
*****
(My second haiku was inspired by Haiku Heights’ cold prompt. My first memory tanka was inspired by Free Write Fridays and Monday Memories.)
Tags: Bakery, Food Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Health & Medical Humor, Hostess Haiku, Illness Haiku, Memory, Party Humor, Pastries, Pre-Birth, Tanka, Trains
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Food & Drink Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Health & Medical Humor, Health Verse, Memory Humor, Tanka | 13 Comments »
Saturday, February 26th, 2011
String quartet concert
missing one violinist—
time to improvise.
*****
Cruising musician
garners Carnegie Hall gig—
fantasy at sea.
*****
Distracted jazzer
misplaces his melodies—
loses audience.
****
Clueless conductor
hurls baton at oboist—
finally a cue.
*****
Billy Joel said:
We Didn’t Start The Fire.
Maybe we need to.
*****
(My first and third haiku were inspired by The Writer’s Island improvise prompt. My second haiku was inspired by Haiku Wednesday’s fantasy prompt. My late addition 5th haiku was inspired by Sunday Scribblings’ fire prompt.)
Tags: Billy Joel, Carnegie Hall, Classical Music Humor, Conductors Humor, Fantasies, Fire, Haiku & Senryu, Haiku Wednesday, Improvising, Jazz Pianist, Music Haiku, Music Humor & Verse, Musical Verse, Oboe Humor, Orchestra Musicians, String Players, Sunday Scribblings, Writer's Island
Posted in Creativity Verse, Haiku & Senryu, Music Humor & Verse | 25 Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Though I’m never safe,
his arms always comfort me,
and that must suffice.
*****
Ballroom dancing class—
learning creative ways to
defeat the rumba.
*****
Morning legs dangle
off the bed, as antique joints
brace for their touch down.
*****
Feeling elated—
great, yet dampened by knowing
what’s soon to follow.
*****
Poised atop mirage
of a career, gazing down
at life left behind.
*****
(I wrote the 1st haiku for We Write Poems’ safe prompt; the 4th haiku for Sensational Haiku Wednesday’s elation prompt; and the 5th haiku for One Single Impression’s top prompt and Haiku Heights’ mirage prompt.)
Tags: Aging, Arms, Career Poem, Dance Classes, Dancing Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Health, Husband Wife Haiku, Legs Humor, Mood Humor, Rumba, Safety Verse, Workplace Poetry
Posted in Clumsiness Humor, Dance Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Health & Medical Humor, Health Verse, Leisure Time Humor, Lessons Haiku, Mental Health Humor, Personal, Relationship Haiku, Relationship Humor, Workplace & Career Humor | 32 Comments »
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Nervous newcomer
slips and falls onto deep snow.
Makes bad impression.
*****
Valiant croci
strain to push through snow’s surface.
All retreat but one.
*****
My tossed-aside snow
returns to the cleared sidewalk.
An icy revenge.
(The first haiku is for the Haiku Heights impression prompt and the second one is for I Saw Sunday.)
Tags: Clumsiness Humor, Crocus, Haiku & Senryu, Seasonal Verse, Snow Verse, Spring Harbinger, Weather Poetry, Winter Humor
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Haiku & Senryu, Outdoors Humor, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 7 Comments »
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
Poetry prompts can serve up everything from fun inspiration to unsettling memories. For instance, the shadows prompt courtesy of Poets United Thursday Think Tank brought back a wistful early childhood memory of my late father Ernest Begun and Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses. More specifically, the two of us reciting my favorite childhood poem, My Shadow.
I’m certain that the many hours we spent poring over that Stevenson volume had lots to do with my own versifying. And so, this haiku:
Robert Stevenson’s
I have a little shadow…
My dad’s knee at three.
Tags: Childhood Memories, Children's Poetry, Father, Haiku & Senryu, Inspiration, My Shadow, Parents, Poetry & Prompts, Poets United, Robert Louis Stevenson
Posted in Family Verse, Haiku & Senryu, Personal, Poetry & Prompts | 12 Comments »
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
St. Valentine’s Day,
Okay for loving couples.
Much sweeter for stores.
(My Valentine’s Day limerick and another haiku are here. And here’s my Valiant Guys Guide To Valentines Day humor column.)
Tags: February Holidays, Holiday Gifts, Holiday Haiku, Money Verse, Relationships Poetry, Shopping Humor, Valentine Day's Humor
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Money & Finance Humor, Relationship Humor, Shopping Humor | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
This week Big Tent Poetry provides a bunch of word prompts, urging us to use one or more in our poems. I used three of them in my haiku (remote, function, handle) and one in a limerick (remote.)
First, my limerick:
I’m tempted to hide the remote
From my spouse in a closet or coat,
Cuz he flicks ev’ry station
In rapid rotation.
Missing show after show gets my goat.
*****
And now my haiku:
Dysfunctional spouse
Wields remote ADD-style.
Wife can’t handle it.
Tags: ADD Haiku, ADD Humor, Battle of the Sexes, Husband Wife Limerick, Marriage Verse, Television Limerick, TV Humor, TV Remote
Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Battle of the Sexes, Behavior & Personality, Entertainment Humor, Family & Relatives Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Leisure Time Humor, Limericks, Marriage Humor, Media Humor, Obsessions Humor, Television (TV) Humor | 21 Comments »
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Finesse is the word of the day over at Writers Block Daily. It prompted me to write a limerick and haiku:
Finessing Popularity
By Madeleine Begun Kane
A man with no hint of finesse
Was quite popular. Why? Can you guess?
Neither handsome, nor funny,
The guy sure had money
To spare and was known for largesse.
Finance and finesse
Both begin with the root fin.
End of resemblance?
Tags: Finance Haiku, Generosity, Language Satire, Money Verse, Popularity Humor, Word Derivations
Posted in Behavior & Personality, Haiku & Senryu, Language Humor, Money & Finance Humor, Physical Appearance | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
My post about haiku and senryu put me in the mood to write more haiku. And what better inspiration than this morning’s extremely rare total lunar eclipse/winter solstice combo!
It’s very cold here in New York. But as my husband sleeps, I’ve been outside watching the eclipse, coming indoors periodically to write some lunar eclipse haiku — a total of seven for a total eclipse:
Here they are:
The lunar eclipse
Is just beginning right now.
Moon’s barely dented.
*****
Bundled up, yet chilled,
I watch moon’s vanishing act.
Quarter’s gone missing.
*****
Icy New York air
Mocks me as I moon eclipse.
Glad cops missed my show.
*****
Ventured out again
As solstice moon wastes away,
Mere shadow of self.
*****
Winds howl in protest,
Demanding that the shy moon
Come out of hiding.
*****
The sky teases us
With a hint of yawning light,
As moon awakens.
*****
Moon stages comeback.
Turns out its retirement
Was only a phase.
Tags: Astronomy Verse, Lunar Eclipse, Moon Haiku, Science Verse, Seasonal Poems, Seasons, Weather Poem, Winter Humor
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, New York Limericks & Haiku, Outdoors Humor, Science Humor, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 7 Comments »
Monday, December 20th, 2010
Every so often I get missives from poetry purists. Their message? Most of my haiku are by strict definition senryu.
Now I hate to admit it, but these sticklers are technically correct. For while haiku and senryu take the same form — three line, seventeen syllable poems (five-seven-five) — historically their subject matter and attitude differ.
If you’re waxing poetic about the physical world, chances are what you’ve written is a classic haiku. Throw in a seasonal reference, and it’s a haiku slam dunk.
But if your topic is human nature and human foibles, it’s probably best to label your verse a senryu, especially if you’re being satirical.
Confused? Don’t worry — most people find all this perplexing. In fact, there are lots of articles discussing this very question, and they don’t all agree with one another. Which is probably why so many people (like me) tend to take the easy way out and label all of our seventeen syllable masterpieces haiku.
But please don’t throw up your hands in unpoetic bewilderment. My explanation in the form of a three-verse limerick just might help or, at least, amuse you:
Haiku Or Senryu, That Is The Question
By Madeleine Begun Kane
So how do you write a haiku?
And when’s a haiku senryu?
Both are five-seven-five,
But heavens alive—
All their diff’rences cause much ado.
The distinction’s confounding to some.
Don’t confuse them — you might be called “Bum!”
If your verse has unfurled
On the natural world,
Then you’ve followed haiku’s rule of thumb.
But if seventeen syllables speak,
Not of nature, but human critique,
With satirical pearls
Mocking people — guys, girls —
You’ve embarked on a senryu streak.
Tags: Haiku Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Senryu Humor, Writing Haiku, Writing Satire
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limericks, Poems About Poems, Poetry Forms, Poetry Rules, Writing & Publishing Humor | 5 Comments »
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
Last week I wrote a series of holiday office party haiku before and after my husband’s office Christmas party. Having survived the festivities, I figured I’d post what’s turned into a trilogy here. (Note: I added one in 2014, turning it into a quartet.)
Holiday party
At husband’s office tonight.
Note to self: Behave.
*****
Trying not to smile–
must conserve facial muscles
for office party.
*****
Friendly note from pals:
“Enjoy the office party.”
Never a good plan.
*****
Ev’ryone behaved
At the office Christmas bash.
Now safe to have fun.
(You can find more of my office party humor here.)
Tags: Christmas Party Humor, December Holidays, Holiday Haiku, Office Party, Seasonal Senryu, Work Humor
Posted in Celebrations Poetry, Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Limericks, Workplace & Career Humor | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
The movie about Facebook, The Social Network, has been getting a ton of publicity this week. So I wonder if Facebook’s outages today were caused by the extra publicity, or just an unfortunate coincidence.
Of course I immediately went into Facebook withdrawal and wrote this pair of haiku:
I think Facebook’s down.
Where to go to confirm this?
On Twitter, of course.
and
Facebook back — Hurray!
Have I cheered prematurely?
So Twitter tells me.
Tags: Computer Verse, Facebook Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Movies, Social Networking Humor, Twitter Verse, Web Addict, Web Withdrawal
Posted in Addiction Humor, Computer Humor, Facebook Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Technology Humor, Twitter Humor | Comments Off on Some Fun With Facebook’s Outage
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
June in New York’s been a wash-out this year. So I’ve written both a limerick and a haiku about our rainy weather. And I welcome you to write some weather verse too:
First my limerick:
June Down The Drain
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Oh, when will the rain ever wane?
Our weather this June’s been insane.
We are having a bout
With the inverse of drought.
So whoever’s in charge, please refrain!
And now my haiku:
Rainy New York June
Has identity crisis:
It thinks it’s April.
Feel free to write your own weather-related limerick (using my first line, if you’d like) and/or weather haiku and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, please join my FB friends in a limerick-off and haiku-off.
Tags: April, Drought, Haiku & Senryu, Identity Crisis, June, Limerick, New York, Rain, Showers, Verse, Weather, Writing Prompts
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limerick-Offs, Limericks, New York Limericks & Haiku, Outdoors Humor, Poetry & Prompts, Seasons Humor, Weather Humor | 17 Comments »
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
I feel (and share) EW’s Michael Slezak’s rage over the American Idol judges’ performance last night.
So what are we both so angry about? I sum it up in my American Idol Review haiku:
An “A for for effort”
To Gokey from the judges?
An F for standards.
Update: Now I’m really angry! Just as I feared, American Idol booted Allison Iraheta instead of Danny Gokey. Talk about unfair! The only good part is we were spared an encore rendition of Danny’s infamous final note.
Tags: Allison Iraheta, American Idol, Danny Gokey, Idol Judges, Music Haiku, Television Review
Posted in Entertainment Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Music Humor & Verse, Television (TV) Humor | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Aim for brilliant
In just one-forty characters.
Settle for inane.
Tags: Creativity, Microblogging, Twitter
Posted in Communication Humor, Computer Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Internet Humor, Mental Health Humor, Technology Humor, Twitter Humor, Writing & Publishing Humor | Comments Off on My Twitter Motto (Haiku)
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Valentine’s Day is coming up — an ideal topic for my very overdue limerick and a haiku (senryu) prompt. First, my limerick:
St. Valentine’s Day’s coming soon.
It’s a choc’late and rose-sellers’ boon.
Will your loved one come through
And make festive ado?
Or just buy you a five-buck balloon?
And now my haiku (senryu):
St. Valentine’s Day—
One day each February?
No. Daily each year.
Now, of course, it’s your turn. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write some verse about Valentine’s Day. When you’ve posted your poem(s), please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry, using Mr. Linky. And please post a comment as well.
(For more Valentine’s Day cheer, my Valiant Guy’s Guide to Valentine’s Day humor column is here.)
Tags: Balloons, Candy, Chocolate, February, February Holidays, Flowers, Gifts, Haiku & Senryu, Holiday, Limerick, Love, Poetry Prompt, Romance, Senryu, Valentine Day's Humor, Valentine's Day
Posted in Advice Humor & Poems, Battle of the Sexes, Celebrations Poetry, Food & Drink Humor, Haiku & Senryu, Holiday Humor, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Relationship Humor, Romance Humor, Shopping Humor | 20 Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
A limerick and a haiku (senryu) with teeth today. First, my limerick:
I think I’m becoming unglued —
Not my mind, but a cap caught on food.
But I can’t blame the guy
Who implanted it. Why?
I forgot to get perm-glued — not shrewd!
And now my haiku (senryu):
The left and the right
May mouth off at each other,
But both hate dentists.
Now, of course, it’s your turn. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write some verse about dentists and/or teeth. When you’ve posted your poem(s), please return here and add a direct link to your themed poetry, using Mr. Linky. And please post a comment as well.
Limerick and Haiku Prompts Participants
UPDATE: Mr. Linky is now closed, but you can still add links to your dental verse in the Comments. And if you’d like to participate in a new poetry prompt, you can always find my latest one here.
UPDATE 2: Happy National Toothache Day! (celebrated yearly on February 9th) And happy Dentists Day! (celebrated yearly on March 6th)
Tags: Cap, Dentist, Dentists Day, Food, National Toothache Day, Teeth
Posted in Haiku & Senryu, Health & Medical Humor, Health Verse, Limerick & Haiku Prompts, Limericks, Odd Holidays | 18 Comments »
Saturday, October 25th, 2008
Here’s something fun for food-loving poets: TimeOut New York is having a pie-ku haiku contest. Here’s the one I submitted:
A freshly baked pie:
Tasty dessert and fragrant
Co-op buyer bait.
Tags: Co-op Humor, Food Haiku, Home Selling Poem, New York, New York City Verse, Pie Haiku, Pie Verse, Pie-ku, TimeOut
Posted in Contests, Food & Drink Humor, Haiku & Senryu, House & Home Humor, New York Limericks & Haiku, Real Estate Humor | Comments Off on Pie-ku Haiku Contest
