Content: chaiku

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1. Do both the chaiku and the haiku express the same concept or do they differ in content? 2. Which, if either, expresses the concept more clearly, which more poetically? 3. Do you prefer one pattern over the other?

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The rules for composing chaiku are simple and straightforward: four syllables or four words – or both – per line. A chaiku may consist of one line or of four lines (a quatrain) or of several quatrains. Any style – lyricism, humor, nonsense, satire, etc. – is allowed. Rules for writing haiku are varied and complex. In addition to the three-line, five-seven-five syllable count, haiku by one definition requires reference to nature, preferably to a season, and is generally confined to the here and now. Other genres written in the haiku form are customarily designated by another name. Disregarding the requirement for specific genre and content in haiku, how do the two forms compare in their ability to express a concept concisely? The following pair of poems was written to explore this question. Reviews expressing a preference and giving reasons for preferring one form to another would be welcome.

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A moment of reflection

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A Chaiku that might express the sights, sounds, and thoughts a Marine might experience during wartime.

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Some supercilious woman reviewer chided the site's anonymous champion of chaiku poetry for using the word 'men' to all refer to all of mankind, including women. Does this mean we must revise our familiar maxims and proverbs to accommodate this scurrilous feminist propaganda? Should it now be: "He or she who laughs last, laughs best"? Should John Donne (1571-1631) have rewritten his famous poem to read: "No man or woman is an island… Any man's or woman's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and womankind…"?

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For those of you who still think PC and PI are acronyms for personal computer and private investigator.

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s

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A chaiku is the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese poetic form haiku. Whereas a haiku consists of three lines, the first and third containing five syllables and the second seven, a chaiku consists of four lines, each of which contains four syllables, a classical rhythmic pattern favored by Chinese poets. As Chinese is a monosyllabic language, a line of four syllables is of necessity a line containing four words. If a chaiku is composed in English, should each line contain four syllables or four words or four monosyllabic words? The chaiku could give birth to three distinct forms in English, that is to say, a quatrain with four syllables in each line, a quatrain with four words in each line and a quatrain with four words of one syllable in each line. Because English, like Japanese, is a polysyllabic language, we can discard the last form as impractical and concentrate on the first two. Which is preferable, lines with four syllables or lines with four words? Nota bene: "Chaiku" is a neologism, a "made-up" word not found in dictionaries or in Wikipedia. It is composed of "CHinese" and "hAIKU," and is meant to convey the notion that a Chinese poetic form can play the same role as haiku in the composition of verse in English.

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Sonny suggested I give this lovely little art form a try. I resisted the urge for about five minutes and then decided to butcher it, as I've been known to butcher other art forms. If you're offended by cursing please don't read this.

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