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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

For Real Toads: Zuihitsu

Kerry has challenged us to try a new poetic form today at the online writers' group Imaginary Garden with Real Toads. New to the Toads, that is, but not necessarily new to eastern poets:

Kerry says: We may take our lead from Kimiko Hahn, who summarized zuihitsu this way: “There’s no Western equivalent [to zuihitsu], though some people might wish to categorize it as a prose poem or an essay… some of its characteristics: a kind of randomness that is not really random, but a feeling of randomness; a pointed subjectivity that we don’t normally associate with the essay. The zuihitsu can also resemble other Western forms: lists, journals. I’ve added emails to the mix.” 

Mine happened to come out in unrhymed couplets. Sometimes life's just like that. When I want to write a poem, I can only think in prose, and when I want to write a prose poem, I produce couplets with lines of three and four syllables.


blue of sky
and green of grass
  
writing notes
reminding self
  
reading books
black print on white

bird on roof
and dog on floor

red of eye
and pain of head

keyboard at
untidy desk

rays of sun
hot, glaring down

6 comments:

Sherry Blue Sky said...

I love this, Kay, can see it all!

Susan said...

But these snippets work to show a random shifting, noting, keeping effort low in the hot sun! What is your title?

Kay L. Davies said...

@ Susan — Good question. I didn't give it a title. Must think about that. Thanks.
K

Kerry O'Connor said...

I agree with Susan that this captures the essence of the form, and the sparseness of the lines seems very Oriental to me.

Ella said...

I love the dance of your thoughts!
:D I need to try this form again~

Margaret said...

nice random snippets! like little two-steps :)