I was inspired to write a poem recently after viewing some of Nicole Hyde's art work at 'Noodle'. Nicole very kindly posted the poem with the painting 'Wind Song' and you may view it here... 'Wind Song'. Enjoy!

Mainichi Daily News Haiku

spring rain -
the cormorant pierces
its reflection


This poem was selected as today's haiku for Mainichi Daily News In Japan.

with no hint
of sadness
the silence
of this day
is blue

I have just encountered a wonderful blog by Nicole Hyde called 'Noodle' it's well worth a visit.

wind whispers
through the reeds at dusk -
crescent moon

offering back
my silence
the unimaginable
depths
of the peony

in the breeze
light shimmers
across the water
a future memory
in the making

Gogyohka

I have recently become aware of a new form of Japanese poetry called Gogyohka. Gogyohka means literally 'five line verse'. It is an evolution of other traditional Japanese short forms and bears a striking resemblance to Tanka. The form was given birth by Mr Enta Kusakabe and is gaining momentum around the world. It is probably fair to say that the differences between Gogyohka and Tanka are more clearly visible in Japanese than English. That said Gogyohka does offer a freedom as there are no formal requirements other than it be written on five lines. I have found Gogyohka to be the perfect outlet for poems I have written on five lines that I would not consider to be tanka. See below for a small selection.

You can learn more about this exciting new form by following the links below.

http://gogyohka.ning.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogyohka

The first link will take you to Gogyohka Junction a vibrant online community of Gogyohka poets and the second is an overview of the form on Wikipedia. Enjoy!


held up
against the mystery
of this life
words are no more
than empty shells


in my arms
the face
of our love
is looking up
and smiling


so many people
so many masks
through this life
we pass
invisible


sometimes light
sometimes dark
my mind
is a bridge
across time


they appear to be
floating
this young couple
hand in hand
through the park