Snow Crocuses

There's a saying in Chicago that if you don't like the weather, just wait a while, it will change. In spring that saying is truer than at any other time of year. In the last 24 hours it seems we've had every type of weather imagineable. That's spring in the Chicago area!

This morning I looked out my bathroom window and saw my neighbor Pat's crocuses covered with snow and thought to myself "There's a haiku waiting to be written.".

Haikus are an ancient form of Japanese poetry invented by Basho in the late 1600s. They were popularized by Jack Kerouac, who called them "Pops", in America in the 50s and they remained popular during the 60s (when I discovered them) and continue to be popular today.

Haikus are generally defined in America as a three-line poem consisting of a line of 5 syllables, aa second line of 7 syllables, and a third line of 5 syllables. A classic haiku usually has nature as its subject. Kerouac (and myself) feel that a haiku can be about anything and that the number of syllables is not critical but that they should be three lines and should be a little snapshot (Pop) of life or moment of insight or inspiration.

Try writing one; it could be an excellent antidote to this unpredictible spring weather! Here's mine, inspired by the crocuses:

A late March snowstorm:

crocuses weren't the only ones

caught by surprise!