Introduction:

I think it was John Clare who wrote: " I didn't write these poems, I found them in a field." For me, this is the essense of haikus and senyrus; once you have found them, you realise that they are all around you, in  nature; in human interaction, and of course the spirit that exists between man and nature.

For me, I found haikus (or they found me?) in a old edition of a Penguin paperback called Zen Poetry. I have since lost the book (I think I lent to someone, so please can I have it back sometime!) but the beauty of those haikus live on.

definition:

Haiku: An unrhymed japanese poem recording the essence of a moment keenly percieved, in which nature is linked to human behaviour. it usually consists of seventeen onji (Japanese sound symbols)1. Originally haiku's were written in three lines consisting of  5 -7 -5 syllables. contemporary European structured haikus are often written in three lines of fewer than seventeen syllables e.g

For a while 

I held the sun

In my hands 

Senyru:  Japanese poem structurally similar to to the haiku, but primarily concerned with human nature. it is usually humorous or satiric 2. e.g

Trio of  boys 

riding one bike

days are numbered

Hope you enjoy this collection. Andy Pomphrey