Haiku for National Haiku Writing Month – March 2025 First Half

 

National Haiku Writing Month has been founded by the well known haiku poet Michael Dylan Welch. The goal is to write at least one haiku a day. National Haiku Writing Month is in its 14th year. [1] I enjoy writing to the prompts on Facebook. Here are some interesting links: [2]. Our daily writing prompter for March 2025 is Shasta Hatter, who is providing prompts for the first time [3]. You're doing fine. Thank you very much, Shasta!

得相能開國，
生兒不象賢。
淒涼蜀故妓，
來舞魏宮前。
蜀先主廟。
劉禹錫。
With a capable minister, he founded a state,
But his son did not resemble him in the slightest.
The courtesans of the Shu court were taken away,
To dance in the palace of the King of Wei.
In the Shrine for the First King of Shu
Liu Yuxi [4]

gone are the days
when the nephew roamed the garden
they'll come again
~ Nephew

bye bye
never drove a chevy
miss american pie
~ Pie [5]

still in the attic
old gift baskets lingering
ready to be filled
~ Gift Baskets

family reunion
we're happy to sit and chat
my long legged niece
~ Niece

Guess who is "my long legged niece"

the birds are silent
the sun sets earlier now
good-bye auntie
~ Aunt

remembering
the man from U.N.C.L.E.
sure black & white
~ Uncle

dingle-dangles
and crocuses are blooming
but uncle's pipe is cold
~ Uncle

sil and co-bil
co-bil's spouse
just siblings
~ In-Laws

in the winter wind
the purple rosehips shiver
we kindle the fire
~ Purple

the bees are busy
sister works in the garden
relax I said to myself
~ Sister/Stepsister

a deer out of nowhere
my brother couldn't stop
oh dear
~ Brother/Stepbrother

lent again
signing with ashes
so much hope
~ Ashes

embers
dying in ashes
some sparks though
~ Ashes

golden light
safe for the snow cap
or -: a glass of beer
~ Gold

glistening gold
the afternoon sun on the sea
the shadow crosses
~ Gold

reminiscing
“papa was a rolling stone”
oh no, not dad
~ Father / Stepfather

mothers keep
their kids' favorite toys
dads still use them
~ Mother / Stepmother

dingle-dangles
their buds are still closed
but a baby's smile
~ Newborn

Links and Annotations:
[1] National Haiku Writing Month https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo  
[2] „To help with haiku fundamentals, please have a look at "Becoming a Haiku Poet" at https://www.graceguts.com/essays/becoming-a-haiku-poet. And please review the "Haiku Checklist" at https://www.graceguts.com/essays/haiku-checklist.
[3] https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/meet-the-prompters/shasta-hatter
[4] Liu Yuxi (劉禹錫) lived in Luoyang (洛陽) from 772 to 842. Four of his poems were included in the anthology "300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty" (唐詩三百首). A total of 12 books (卷) of Liu Yuxi's poems can be found in the massive compilation "Complete Tang Poems" (全唐詩) from 1705, which, like the well-known dictionary (康熙字典), dates back to the Emperor Kangxi (康熙帝), who lived from 1654 to 1722.
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pie_(song) The lyrics are still open fo further interpretation; here you find one version on the net: https://www.songtexte.com/songtext/don-mclean/american-pie-3bc3e840.html. Such songs may baffle later generations, even for centuries or millenia, like the "Li Sao" (離騷), dating back to the 3rd century BCE –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Sao. I studied it with the help of Lim Boon Keng's Book “The Li Sao”.
Lim Boon Keng: The Li Sao. An Elegy on Encountering Sorrows by Ch'ü Yüan. Commercial Press, Shanghai 1929. Reprinted: Taipei 1974.

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