170821 August 21, 2017

Haiku High

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

    Last week I told how my creative writing class introduced me to the Japanese poetry style called Haiku. In its purest form it was designed as a tribute to nature, but I find the style fun to play with by using the basic 5-7-5 syllable style. The first line has five syllables, the second line seven syllables and the third line again has five syllables. 

     My request for some of you to submit some original Haiku based on high school days was unanswered, so I just did some myself. I find some of them are like listening to Yoda, but to keep the 5-7-5 syllables style they sometimes turn out that way.

     Here are some of my own Haiku verses I came up with when looking back on my school memories.

 Round and round we go

The halls we walk every day

Friends all pass and talk

A, E, I, O, U

Red fox and lazy old dog

We must learn to type

Things we need in life

Not algebra and phys ed

But shop and home ec

Football on Friday

More social than sporting time

Cute cheerleaders Rah!

If A equals B

And C equals two times D

Well, who gives a damn

Le Circle Franćais

Or The French Club in English

Je ne parle pas it

Girls in cute short skirts

Catch the eyes of all the guys

Not allowed in class

Smoke hole is out back

Students lite up in secret

Hide fags here comes Coach

Morning announcements

Blare from the ceiling speakers

All blah, blah, blah, blah

No smart phones for us

We would text by passing notes

Photographs are rare

Senior prom night is here

Must find a date for the dance

The night will hold tales

Bell rings we change class

Can’t wait for the final bell

Chuck says run like hell

    So, that's it. It was fun to work with and I hope some of these short verses help you remember too.