just 3 lines

keeping it simple....reflecting on life with pictures and poems in the Japanese tradition of Zen

leaves so red

they look artificial—

the moon is pale

*

the moon is white

the leaves are red, red, red—

so are my socks

*

when in doubt

what to write about—

do it in red!

Red is my favorite color!

Composed on November 05, 2023

Background

ymsmessages: After 25 years, I chose to leave the business world and pursue a simpler, more satisfying way of life. I reoriented my thinking and explored my creativity. I turned to The Tao, Buddhism, and the New Age. I practiced tai chi and trained in massage, reiki and yoga. I read poetry and wrote. I made fiber art and painted. And I began to make origami. This drew me in more and more to other Japanese traditions, including Zen and haiku. Haiku are short poems. They reflect on Life as found in nature and in the human condition. They convey a moment of realization, reflecting a mood or a feeling of wonder or longing, of pleasure or pain. Haiku are commonly written in three lines of 17 syllables: 5-7-5. This can vary. Their styles also vary: elegant, poignant, philosophical, silly, sad, humorous. Haiku require no particular degree of learning to write or to read. They seem ordinary, yet are somehow extraordinary in their facility to capture and engage the imagination. It may be that the spare simplicity of just three lines holds a subtle power to wake up the senses and evoke moments of pleasure and wonder. Please enjoy.

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