by Kelly

I watched an amazing movie over the weekend. It was a South-Korean film called Poetry.

The movie jacket boasts a host of awards from recognized film festivals like Cannes, Toronto, Telluride and New York. After seeing the film, I understand why. It has a very quiet nature, and yet it builds to a fascinating climax.

The movie doesn’t have anything to do with haiku, per se, but it does question the origin of poetic inspiration, a topic that — of course — interests me as Alison and I are now deep into year three of Haiku By Two.

The main character of the film, a 60-ish woman named Mija, has recently been told by her doctors that she has Alzheimer’s Disease.

She doesn’t know what to do with this information. After all, her high-school aged grandson (whom she is raising) seems downright incapable of behaving in any sort of civilized manner, and her daughter (the grandson’s mother) lives in another city. Mija is, it seems, on her own when it comes to addressing the needs of her disease.

On a whim, she registers for a poetry class at her local community center. There, she hopes to discover an artistic muse. She desperately wants to write one good poem before she loses her grasp on language, but doesn’t know where to look for inspiration.

At a time when Mija should be focusing her energy and money on herself, however, she learns that her grandson has been involved in an awful crime. A local young woman has killed herself and Mija’s grandson, along with a handful of his friends, are accused of causing the situation that led to the suicide.

Given her Alzheimer’s, will Mija be able to fully grasp the seriousness of her grandson’s crime? Will she be able to help him escape arrest? And will she ever find her muse and write the perfect poem?

Poetry is not the kind of movie that features eye-popping special effects, and it is not the kind of movie that will have you griping your armrest in suspense. But it is the kind of movie that gets under your skin. Poetry is the kind of movie you need to watch with someone else so that you have a discussion partner at the end.

I, unfortunately, watched it by myself, and thus have been dying to talk about it with someone (anyone!) who has experienced it and can help me digest the story.

If you’ve seen it, drop me a comment and let me know what you thought about it, especially the end!

Or, if this post so moves you, rent it and watch it, then come back here and tell me what you think!

by Alison

After work

flies circle my head -

Is this haiku?

by Kelly

morning woodpecker

in his tock tock tock I sense

notes of poetry

by Alison

I brainstorm options:

teaching, selling soap, haiku.

Gotta earn $$$!

by Alison

sometimes the words come

so easily and sometimes

they don’t come at all

by Alison

in my pocketbook

written on an old receipt -

last summer’s haiku

by Alison

I’ve been thinking about poetry lately.

Where do I want to go with haiku? What new areas do I want to explore? And specifically, do I want to stay exclusive with 5 - 7 - 5?

Then I happened upon the results of the fifteenth Caribbean Kigo Kukai haiku contest hosted by Gillena Cox and I became inspired.

The haiku in this contest are of the modern shorter variety. There is no strict 5 - 7 - 5 syllable count in these poems. Rather, the poems contain a kigo (seasonal reference) and most contain a break. In less than seventeen syllables!

The fifteenth Caribbean Kigo Kukai features the word “umbrella” as a prompt and it is interesting to read the variety of haiku that come out of using this word.

Here are a few that struck me.

This one, by Magdalena Dale, spoke to me with it’s simple universal appeal.

Red umbrella -
the sounds of rain drops
around us

I can imagine the color red and the music of the rain working together for this beautiful moment.

This one, by Bill Kenney, won first place.

summer rain
my umbrella
unopened

I love the brevity of language in this one while at the same time it says so much. The whole idea of contrasting caution with joyful spontaneity is so appealing. And in only 10 syllables!

This one, by Catherine J. S. Lee, won second place and is another favorite.

after divorce court –
still, she offers to share
her umbrella

I love how this one gets personal (we like to do that here at Haiku By Two) and I appreciate the way Lee melds the personal with the seasonal. It’s real and contains emotion and yet the emotion is grounded by nature. Fantastic!

Thanks to Gillena for hosting a wonderful Caribbean Kigo Kukai that has inspired me so! And keep checking the site. New contests with different kigo are posted on a regular basis. I hope to try my hand at the shorter haiku sometime soon although I must admit I am not sure where or how to start. If you have any suggestions, please share them in comments!

by Alison

“I can’t write haiku

without AC!” I complain.

What would Basho think?

by Alison

“Crescent moon,” he says.

“No. A fingernail clipping.”

Kelly’s words change me.

by Alison

no cable TV

I pull out my old journal

and write poetry