Haiku

We began "The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn" this week for our Sonlight history read aloud. It was supposed to be yahoo #1's reader but after previewing it, I really thought yahoo #2 would enjoy it as well. I was correct. It is set in 1700's Japan, the time of the shogun and samurai. Interestingly, one of the main characters is a "Kirishitan." The name the Japanese gave those who converted to the Christian faith. The main character, a young boy, would like to be a samurai and write poetry. The poetry the samurai wrote was Haiku.

Our creative writing exercise was to have the girls write their own Haiku. I had bought magnetic Haiku poetry words in our Rainbow Resource order this summer and we all sat down and made our Haiku. The rules were to use the words from the Haiku set. It was more challenging that way than thinking one up on my own (at least "I" thought so). Here are our poems...

yahoo #1

Early wind whispers,
Knowest blossom, friend of stream,
Song beneath the sun.

yahoo #2 (needed a little help in making it poetry, not sentences)

I dream spring is cold
Dandelions shivering
Blossoms are freezing.

mine

Purple clouds above
Thundering throughout the night
Wet rain falls about.