Picturing Haiku

  https://shashin-haiku.org [added purple text] The webpage about "what is a photo haiku" stirs thoughts about some of the issues and considerations when putting visual and verbal layers together. The joining of word and picture is known in Japan by various references to the 5-7-5 structured image poems; for example,  shahai , haisha , photo haiku, photo 575, and so on. The example in this screenshot from the webpage at  https://shashin-haiku.org/写真俳句とは has a mother and child peering at the myriad koi (carp) filling a shady spot in a channel of moving water. One way to put the verse into English is: Mama and child / A moment at the streamside / Shining so brightly. Some people begin with their text and then seek a photo that relates somehow to the verbal "snapshot," either closely fitting the haiku, or more loosely associated with the feelings carried in the words. Others will see something that catches their eye for some reason and then later they come up with a ...

 Deer tracks on shore  Thirsty this summer morning  Gone now to wood shade Summer rain warms Tennis play stops for now Clouds drift overhead Damp stump sprouts orange Mushrooms tower over moss Birdsong in treetops Small hands grip stair rail Curious to see warm lake Wistful dad follows on Little June spider Greets this cool cloudy day Food comes by air Hotel room summer Various lives pass by this Shining old floor Mossy old sidewalk  People hardly notice that Soft green edges grow Canada burning Sends ash south in June air Daylight dim as dusk Water murmurs west Lake Michigan drinks it all Glad fish, birds, and bugs   Ski-boat growls past Waves lap the shore one by one Beach bugs keep feasting   Morning lake like glass Bright birches stand dripping dew Kayak drifting right    Wildfire ash gloaming People talk of setting sun Waves lap the shore    Low dam decades old Holding lake but letting fish Swim Lake Michigan    Maples onc...