Welcome to Go Dog Go Cafe’s Haibun Wednesday!

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What exactly is Haibun?

Autobiographical poetic prose accompanied by haiku.

Bruce Ross

In his old age Basho, who may be credited with establishing the haiku form, undertook a long journey to the remote regions of northern Japan, fully expecting to die before completing it. He did complete the journey, and his record of it has become a classic of world literature and an example, in the broadest sense, of haibun, autobiographical poetic prose accompanied by haiku. 
– Journey to the Interior, American Versions of Haibun, Edited by Bruce Ross

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This week’s writer’s guide…

[Concerning Haiku] …we are not racing after feeling with our mind and our imagination but letting go so that feeling can come to us…it is a heartfelt presentation of feelings for what is happening here and now at this present time.
How to Haiku, Bruce Ross

white moon,
snowman’s shadow
gone
– Vincent Tripi’s Haiku Pond: A Trace of the trail…and Thoreau (1987)

What feelings come to you after reading the haiku? For me, it’s the reminder of the impermanence of winter, the snow that came, and the sun that melted away the snowman’s brief life.

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Now over to you…

• This week, let’s write using a line from Mary Oliver as our theme, “the sprawling darkness of not knowing.” Once you have your prose written, think about an ordinary moment in time than can compliment as your haiku. Let the feelings come to you rather than try to chase them down. Remember, the prose is autobiographical…so write as if journaling or a diary entry.

• Post the poem to your blog, tag Go Dog Go Cafe, and include a link that leads readers back to this post.

• Add the link for your poem in the comments below.

• Read one or two of other writer’s links…we all get better together. 

DM

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Hey y’all, thanks for visiting the Go Dog Go Cafe and reading today’s selection. I am Donna Matthews, a born and bred Texan who can usually be found writing at the DJ Ranch, doodling, taking pictures, and traveling the world on foot. I’m all about love, people, sharing, and exploring life together, and would love to get to know you. Come on over for a visit sometime 💙