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Welcome to Haibun Monday folks !  We have a guest blogger today, Michael from Morpethroad down under the world in Australia.

When I first started writing Haibun and haiku a friend gave me some simple notes that I look at each time I write one. The haibun should include travel, something seasonal and a reference to nature. The haiku should follow a 5,7,5 syllable count (though that is a western constraint) not use words like I or me nor use comparison words such as ‘like’. For me simple and to the point as a guide to writing in this form.

If this is your first time to read about haibun, you can refer back to our past Haibun Monday articles so you are acquainted with the form. Here is short description of the form:

Haibun prose is composed of terse, descriptive paragraphs, written in the first person singular. The text unfolds in the present moment, as though the experience is occurring now rather than yesterday or some time ago. In keeping with the simplicity of the accompanying haiku, all excessive words should be pared down or deleted. Nothing must ever be overstated.

The poetry never attempts to repeat, quote or explain the prose. Instead, the poetry reflects some aspect of the prose by introducing a different step in the narrative through a microburst of detail. Thus the poetry is a sort of juxtaposition – seemingly different yet somehow connected. 

As your guest host today I am asking you to consider the concept of WAITING. We all do it at least once a day. We live in a world where waiting is part of life. At the airport, leaving or awaiting an arrival, in the shops, going to a sporting event, at the train station, the bus stop, even at home waiting to use the bathroom.

Draw from your personal experience whether it be a pleasant or unpleasant wait, from the exhilaration of awaiting the arrival of a loved one to the trauma of waiting news of a lost loved one or one who is ill.

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Can’t wait to write your haibun?   Here are some guidelines to consider:   (1) The haibun must be non-fiction (2) The occurance must have actually happened to you (3) You are to write one to two (or three) tight paragraphs and (4) End it with a season based haiku.

If you are new to dVerse or even if not, please:
– Write your haibun and link it to dVerse.
– Post it to Mr. Linky which is found at the bottom of this post. Please link your poem’s URL instead of your blog name.
– Visit each other, read, and comment on other writers. This is how we enjoy each other and grow our poetic community.

About our guest host:  Michael Grogan.Retired teacher of English and Drama. Father of 6 amazing children. I have loved to write all my working life and in retirement I write mainly for myself as I love to play with words. I live in Australia, in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales.