Haiku for Mars

So, NPR posted about MAVEN sending haiku to Mars - and of course, I took up the challenge. The first stanza is all that was submitted (only one entry per person for this one)...

Haiku/Senyru to the Red Planet

Red planet, sister
what lessons can you teach us
before it's too late?

Red planet, brother
what wars decimated you
long 'ere I was born?

Red planet, mother
did your people flee here
for a better life?

Red planet, father
protector or destroyer
sent us sons of strife

Red planet, beacon
lesson for us all on Earth
to reconnect with her

Red planet, ghost of
things yet to come, future can
be changed; can we choose?

Day 8, #2 - Windy Haiku

Wind, blustery, gust
Bird feeder falls, windchimes sing
April more like March

One Month to the Day

...since I last posted on this blog. Last night was a blaze of inspiration, brought on by an afternoon of brainstorming at work and the swirl of creative types I cybersocial with on FaceBook.

Here is what came from the muse last night:

Relationships

You might be, may be
Interested in him if
Only he were too

Interested in
You perhaps, maybe
You are into him

And this form is senyru, not true haiku...just so you know...

The next one was

The dance we weave is
Meant to deceive you, me
And all humankind

And Mother Nature
Has not a rewind feature
For any creature

No matter how great
Or how small, Mother Nature, 

She does rule us all

And our greed and our
Pride will truly be the death
Of us one and all

Then, based on prompts from a writing group, an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and my upcoming vacation, came this one:

Today I am randomness
Schreodinger's cat is named Fluffy
Smoke from a distant fire reminds me of camping
Getting up with the sun, not an alarm
No deadlines or commitments but the day to come home
Senyru (not haiku)
And to sleep, perchance to dream
Of trains, coal, steam

And then finally, due to the sky's colors when filled with smoke from a large grass fire yesterday at sunrise:

Gaia Mother Earth
Watch me set the sky afire
Turning Moon to gold

2012 Poetry Challenge - Day 5 - Senyru

Senyru follows the same form as haiku - 3 lines, 5/7/5 syllable count - however, where haiku is season-themed, senyru can follow any theme. Here is my offering for today:

your heart signs joyous
while my heart burns searing pain
is not love just grand

Tankas for the Day

This morning I was pondering tanka - a 5-7-5-7-7 form similar to haiku (5-7-5, about seaons) or senyru (not about seasons, also 5-7-5). Those are syllable counts, by the way.

This is what came of this ponderance after the work day was over...

Based on getting a job interview for what looks to be a very interesting job:

Applying for job
opportunity beckons
getting interview
need to make the most of it
how to make the most of it?

Sitting outside in the sun writing, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood:

Scaling piano
notes drifting from neighbor's house
now playing a song
not one to sing along to
at least no discordant notes

Thinking about various things, past and present in life:

Wanting harmony
understanding, peace and love
having distance,
communication issues
relationships are worth it?

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red-winged blackbird trills

Wind tousles tree leaves, grass blades

Mourning dove does coo

Juncos come and gone

Finches and sparrows have too

Red-winged blackbird stays

Doves here all year round

Red-winged blackbird comes in spring

Flys home in the fall

Sitting in the reeds

Lighting on the tree, the fence

Red-winged blackbird trills

About the next poem

I love red-winged blackbirds, especially listening to them sing in the spring. The population took a serious nose-dive somewhere between the early 1970s - when I used to see them as we were traveling around in our motorhome - and the early 1980s - when I was old enough to drive and see things for myself. Now I live near an ephemeral stream that has reeds in it that the birds like to gather in. They light in our neighbor's tree and on the fence, and start their songs in the spring.

So, inspired by hearing their songs not only where I live, but also while I was out on a bike ride in another county (the bike ride is called Party Pardee, and goes around Pardee Lake) today, I created the poem for today.

It's a set of four haiku-like stanzas, since I love that form, especially for nature-related themes.

Enjoy!