remember
a life of giving
carved in stone
~
This Haiku is inspired by 3 people this week.
Firstly Jamie and her Photo Challenge prompt word: REMEMBER
Secondly Ronovan and his Haiku challenge prompt words: LIFE and GIVE
And thirdly by Haiku Hound Denis who left a wonderfully encouraging comment in response to my post Windy Haiku
“Each month I meet up with a bi-lingual haiku group that is organised by a Japanese Haiku master, (mistress). She encourages us to write 3/5/3 in English as this translates almost perfectly to 17 syllables in Japanese………Be adventurous and have a go at a couple of 3/5/3/ after 5/7/5 and see how you feel!!!”
I’ve had a go and it feels GOOD!
Thank you Denis!
The photo was taken in a cemetery in Tokyo, where I went to find a peaceful spot to have my lunch. The wooden memorial boards (Tohba) are carved to mark an anniversary, either of the date of death, or birth or a special occasion.
Whilst writing this haiku I realised, everyone’s grave marks a life of giving, each one of us gives something during our lifetime …….
When a close friend of mine died many years ago, I had the task of choosing the inscription for her headstone. I adapted a card that I was sent at the time and chose:
“Those who give of themselves live on within the hearts of others”
I had this in mind as I was writing the Haiku.
Ravelry
I love the haiku! It triggered a flood of emotions and remembrances. It’s amazing how a few words placed just right can do that. You did great with the 3/5/3. I’m going to have to give it a try. 😀
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Thank you, thank you, thank you Vashti! I’m chuffed to hear how this haiku landed with you. I’ve enjoyed playing with the 3,5,3 – it seems more haiku-y if you see what I mean! Looking forward to seeing what you make of it. ❤
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That si a lovely Haiku Daffy, I love that thought about celebrating what we have given during our lives,
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❤
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Some loving thoughts about humanity. Thank you.
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Pingback: RonovanWrites 72nd #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Challenge Review | ronovanwrites
You rise to your challenges so well…
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Thank you so much Cathy! I find one helps me with the other (most of the time!).
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I hadn’t heard of the 3/5/3 haiku before. What a great word challenge.
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Nor me til I was in Japan, and then when Denis told me of his Haiku group, I thought I’d give it a go and I rather like it. I do love playing with words in this way, even though, at first, it can seem impossible.
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Beautiful thoughts. The 3/5/3 in relation to 5/7/5 in Japanese is interesting. I have sometimes wondered re the differences in language.
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Thank you Rainbow. Our guide said, that in Japanese each letter is a syllable and so that is why the 3,5,3 for English speaking writers, equates more closely. I love having a go at these word puzzles.
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When you said grave, I thought you might have been talking about the future of turkey’s during this week. Great Haiku. I’ve been intending to add the 3/5/3 to the “how to” part of the challenge. 🙂
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When you said ‘grave’ I thought ‘gravy’- yum enjoy! – glad you like the Haiku, it is fun to try something different. (we don’t kill our turkeys til about 21st December over here!). Thanks for dropping by! 😉
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