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Haibun: Love by ~8ankH:icon8ankH:



I know this:
Is not love
but to dream it?

The girl who entered the kitchen had a long coat on.  She wore a large hat over her long, light hair.  She spoke English second to French, but spoke well--and spoke to me!  I was delighted.  She had so many questions and thoughts, and her eyes lingered on my responses.  I breathed her in.  Her eyes and her perfume filled that moment in which we quietly accepted having suddenly fallen in love.
Of course, I have already found a woman to love and care for, as she cares for me.  It's no good pretending to be single when that's the last thing you want to be.  I had to turn away from this French vision, who wanted so much to find warmth for the winter.  I left the social kitchen scene for my quiet, empty room.
I figured it had been pheromones, something in the perfume she wore, something she was giving off that was seasonal.  She lingered in the hall outside my door, letting her perfume drift in, distracting me.  I had to light incense just to concentrate on my work.  Everyone knew how she felt, even I.  And there was something I was feeling too.  It had been such a sudden meeting that I couldn't believe it was more than some imagining of mind.

I know this
is not love--
but to dream it!
©2008-2009 ~8ankH
:icon8ankh:

Author's Comments

This is still a work in progress, but it is an experiment in the Haibun form [link] (as explained by`Laurence55). [EDIT] I am trying to explore more forms so I can remove ignorance and move forward with my work.

1. Do you usually punctuate your poetry? Why/why not?
--I usually try to punctuate my poetry, but I often get muddled in the process. I'm still learning grammar.

2. Are there lines in this poem where you were considering other punctuation (or no punctuation)? If so, what were you considering and why?
--I had played with a dash where I put the comma in the first one, but decided a comma would do.

3. If this is a new draft of an old poem, do you feel better about your choices this time, or do you feel as if you were forcing the punctuation use?
--I had this in my head for three or four days before this workshop magically appeared in my message box. I quickly put it down and submitted it. I was forcing the punctuation, though. I wanted it to count towards the augmented meaning of the words.

4. Overall, what is the effect you would like this poem to have on the reader? In other words, what are you going for here?
--I want to have the same words repeated with the same enjambment, but to have their meaning altered through the punctuation. I won't call this complete because I need more information to carry the change to the reader, but it is poetic and a good example of how punctuation is important.

Comments


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:iconlaurence55:
Nice work Tristan! The relationship between prose and haiku is fluid and complementary here! The structure of this piece is also interesting. As you know, the prose serves as the narrative leading up to the "revelation" (the haiku). In this case, the piece begins with that moment and then travels into a deeper understanding of how you arrived there. Very nice!

My only advice here would be that haibun itself does not actually involve tanka at all. That would be the closely related style of tanka prose. As modern haijin, this is a moot point, as there are pieces that use both and are still classified as haibun. Well done my friend! :nod:
Hidden by Owner
:icon8ankh:
Thanks a lot for reading it, but I still feel like the small pieces aren't working with the prose as well as they could, or a new, single piece could for a stronger concluding thought.
Maybe I should save it as is and work on something else--and I will, but I may come back to it yet.

--
:orange: PEACE
:iconlaurence55:
Yeah man, I know how you feel. Just think on it and then return to it later!
:iconmirageode:
i think the poem is wanting vividness. what's so stunning about the girl? i want to see, to feel the moment of their "falling in love." but i couldn't, because the language is more narrative than descriptive; it tells more than shows. some of the rhymes--if they are deliberate rhymes--also sound awkward, like a nursery rhyme, as in "Of course, I have already found a woman to love and care for, as she cares for me. It's no good pretending to be single when that's the last thing you want to be."

--
kmtr

"Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears."
- Albert Camus
:icon8ankh:
The rhymes should come out, for sure. The vividness you feel is missing, I think, is what is missing from the conveyance of the idea I wanted to pass on. It isn't that there is a romantic falling in love, but more of a parlor trick romance that is momentary. More information is needed all around. I'm not sure if the Haibun form is the proper one, but I had three or four avenues of thoughts coming into congruence around the time of this workshop. Thanks a lot for reading and leaving a solid comment.

--
:orange: PEACE
:iconmirageode:
you're welcome. :)
if it is a "parlor trick romance", i still think the reader should feel that. anyway, good luck with this piece! :)

--
kmtr

"Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears."
- Albert Camus
:iconlamonaca:
I really enjoyed this in its first incarnation, and I have no suggestions for improving the beginning and ending stanzas as I thought they stood powerfully on their own.

That said, let me run through a few suggestions for the middle section:

Of course, I [had] already found a woman to love and care for, as she [cared] for me.

I figured it had been pheromones[--]something in the perfume she wore, something she was giving off that was seasonal.

And there was something I was feeling[,] too.


For more general information about the workshop and such, be sure to check the results!
:icon8ankh:
thank you thank you!
I agree with you, but wanted to experiment. The prose help means a lot. I really need to work on my prose!

--
:orange: PEACE

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November 4, 2008
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