A Newsletter from Contemplate

Contemplating What’s Missing

Haiku

By the author

Several times this month, I found myself referring to, and reminiscing about my early days writing here, when I had an initiative to publish a haiku every day for as long as I could. It was a time when the publications that published haiku exclusively were very active. They would publish a new writers’ prompt once a week, and I eagerly replied. I ended the practice at Zen 263. You can easily navigate through the entire series starting at the beginning, Zen.

It was helpful in my finding my voice. It helped me find others who were also finding their voice. And I learned how to find my voice by listening deeply while walking outside in gardens, woods, river walks — any place where I could immerse myself in nature and engage in deep listening.

This month, I reorganized the Contemplate publication front page to include a new tab to feature haiku, called Haiku Hub, in honor of a publication I used to submit my haiku to. Starting this month, I’ll offer a haiku writers’ prompt for your haiku, and will be happy to host them here.

Remember the structure — count syllables — 5–7–5. Haiku is a perfect poetic form for learning how to convey powerful emotions in merely three lines. It can be an incredibly contemplative practice.