Monday, December 8, 2008

This Haiku Will Change Your Life

Claire has been diligently working on her Japanese poems as of late. Haiku, in the very likely case you slept through 7th grade English, is a short poem composed of three metrical lines of 5, 7 and again 5 syllables. The verses do not rhyme. I never used to be a fan of The Haiku--it seemed too short and simple to express the vast depth of human longing.

But that was until Claire wrote the most profound poem I have ever read. Now, I am determined to defend this medium to the death. Witness this piece of poetic perfection that changed my mind forever and helped articulate one of life's most ardent passions:

The smell greets me now
Coffee is like paradise
I will never leave

So true. So true.

Before you call DHS for hooking a 13 year old on a cup of Joe...really stop and think about the pared down beauty of this petite poem. Can't you just feel the calm, yet impassioned commitment? The quiet, yet enduring love? The heavenly bliss?

I can. And I don't know about you, but I ain't leaving either.




1 comment:

Lauren said...

This is really good! Claire has your gift for writing. I didn't drink coffee at that age, but I did actually love the smell so much that I would make coffee for my parents in the morning! There really is something about the aroma of coffee that stirs the soul.

I was inspired a few weeks ago to write haiku, when our newspaper had a haiku contest:

Cold stiffens the grass

First snowflakes of the year fall

Take down the hammock

Congrats to Claire on her insightful and moving work!