Haiku – Anyone?

You may ask: What is a Haiku (Haw-ee-coo)? Some of you will already know that it is an unrhymed Japanese verse form of three lines, containing 5 – 7 – 5 syllables respectively. So, a Haiku is a little poem.

Somewhere I have read that, if a Samurai warrior had to commit suicide (for honour’s sake) he was expected to compose a Haiku before he died. That sounds rather grim, yet it can be considered as a kind of pre-escape from the unavoidable - to fashion a perfect jewel of a poem as the last thing you did in life.

Haikus are not only written under such dire circumstances. During a writing course I once took, we had to create some of these little verses. They give you a very strict, sparse form into which you must shape something thoughtful and attractive. I found the discipline of the meter quite a challenge. Eventually, I came up with my own Haiku to an orchid:

The reason why I am sharing these thoughts with you today is the fact that I have found another orchid Haiku in an Oregon newsletter, composed by William Hirsch:

Was he dealing with a Phragmipedium Cardinale?

This is a funny poem – I think it is very funny! It also contains another feature of the Haiku, some spiritual essence: establish a point of reference and then illuminate it from an unusual side. I wonder if there are other orchidists out there who would like creating an orchid Haiku? Why don’t you have a try? For instance, while working over some importation papers (for orchids, of course) this one came to my mind:

Ingrid Schmidt-Ostrander - Canadian Orchid Congress