Haiku Journey on River Dart by Jean Knill

Jean Knill has kindly allowed us to publish her haiku journey on the River Dart. The river flows through the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England.

Jean’s Nature’s Kaleidoscope Folding Mirror poem had the most comments on fmpoetry last year. 

Haiku was the main inspiration for Marc Latham initialising  the Folding Mirror poetry form, and as far as Marc can analyse, Jean provides fantastic haiku examples both in form and quality.

Here’s Jean’s haiku journey, followed by her website link:

Newbridge on the River Dart near Spitchwick on Dartmoor. The stretch here is popular with canoeists. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the River Dart 

We board at Totnes
on a cloudy autumn morn.
What delights await?

Ankle deep in mud,
heron standing regally
till its lunch swims by.

Red fox on the bank,
sated belly near the ground,
slinking slowly home.

Buzzards spiralling
as small birds flock together.
Safety in numbers.

Seal heads popping up,
inviting us to join them
for some water play.

Weary parent seals
look on from resting places,
floating wood pontoons.

Houses crowd the banks,
places reached by narrow lanes
for a quiet life.

Boats are moored here too
heralding Dartmouth’s approach
and the open sea.

Boarding for return,
rain drives us all to shelter
till the sun comes out.

Precipitating
raindrops pattern the water
all around the boat.

Bright shafts of sunlight
make the river spark and gleam
for an interlude.

Lower tide reveals
weird shapes of weed covered roots
of the trees above.

Totnes here we come,
disembark the tourist’s boat
for our homebound drive.

We will remember
how we spent a lovely day
on the River Dart.

Jean muses at: http://jakill-jeansmusings.blogspot.co.uk/

Shows the River Dart at Totnes in Devon looking upstream to the bridges (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

August Poem: Flock of Suns Fly South on Season Wind

Image by just4ikarus via Flickr

Marc Latham’s latest Folding Mirror poem combines a couple of ideas that could have been separate haikus into a Folding Mirror poem, with a linking middle. Don’t know if it works!

It is not a suicide poem, it’s a survival one.  And here it is:

Summer’s Sunset Soliloquy

suicide by sunshine
recommended over
burning inside

squeezing sunlight serotonin stipend

depth searching
within shallows
risks your sinking

Poem Inspired by Nature’s Morning Glory

Image by Angelrays via Flickr

Today we have a lovely nature folding mirror poem by Jean Knill, who has her own blog and also blogs at Writelink.  The poem is very apt after a sunny early  spring morning.  Here’s Jean’s account of how the poem came to life:

My inspiration for this poem started when I opened the curtains on the French window and sat down at the table next to it to have breakfast.  It was just getting light.  The trees in next door’s garden were dark against the sky, and we could make out some little birds on the high branches.  Later, sitting on top of a double decker bus driving through the Dorset countryside, I marvelled at the colours of the trees and other vegetation we were passing when the sun came out from behind the clouds. 

I wanted to write a folding mirror poem, but some of the words that came to mind were quite lengthy and I couldn’t mirror them in the right place in the other half of the verse.  They were going to make the poem seem lopsided.  So I decided to count syllables instead, as I do when I write haiku.  This poem was the result.

The syllable count is: 5-9-7-5-9-7 (4) 7-9-5-7-9-5

Thanks for explaining the poem Jean, and also for creating and sharing it…and the syllables lesson too.

 Nature’s Kaleidoscope

 In early morning
leafless black branches are silhouettes
against the lightening sky.
Small winged acrobats
swing among the flimsy topmost stems
before  flying off en masse.

 Here comes the sun,

 flames the sky with orange streaks,
climbing higher, turning trees into
a kaleidoscope.
Gold, copper and lime emerge
from dull grey bark until a cloud shroud
melts them off again.

Revised Vertical to Horizontal Folding Mirror

This is a revised version of Some Clouds Have a Silver Lining, turning it from horizontal to vertical.

The Poem

Some Clouds Have a Golden Lining

We see the rain approach
but hope
it will not
reach or breach our beach

Some Clouds Have a Golden Lining

On change of wind we
now depend
our day on
the beach it must defend

Folding Mirror Article on Suite 101

Marc Latham has written an article about the Folding Mirror form for the Suite 101 Poetry Section.

The article provides an overview of the poetry form, as well as detailing some of the publishing successes for Folding Mirror poems.

Poems and Poetry on this Site

Poems and poetry on this site.

1. Stoned Free Marc Latham

2. Long way from the Equator Marc Latham

3. Mountain Mirror: Ascent and Descent Marc Latham

4. Football Ground Mirror Marc Latham

5. Left for Right Sarah James

6. Valley Reflections Marc Latham

7. Moody Blues Marc Latham

8. Barley flowing in Summer Winds Marc Latham

9. On the half-way line Marc Latham

10. Through the Kitchen Window Sarah James

11. Cloudy Sunset Marc Latham

12. Fireworks Sarah James

13. Twister, Twister, Eye of the Storm Marc Latham

14. Football Career Mirror Colours Marc Latham

15. Colours Marc Latham

16. From Morar to Monte Carlo Marc Latham

17. One Season: Two Halves Marc Latham

18. Bookworms Sarah James

19. Dicing With Death Marc Latham

20. Thalatta, Thalatta (The Sea, The Sea) Caroline Gill

21. A Tree in Summer and Autumn Marc Latham

22. My Haiku Diary Jean Knill

23. The Nursery Jean Knill

24. Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows Marc Latham

25. Blake’s River Border Country Marc Latham

26. Enclosed in Wood on the Sunset Horizon Marc Latham

27. Nature and Society: Thomas Girtin’s Kirkstall Abbey Marc Latham

28. An Autumn Sunset in Chichester Marc Latham

29. Mistress Clover Sarah James

30. On Tour Wendy Webb

31. Stendhalismo Norman Bissett

32. Daybreak Claire Knight

33. Stonehenge de Constable Marc Latham

34. Priestess Zoya Gautam

35. Humanity Amongst the Pillars of Creation Marc Latham

36. Greenygrey Gypsy Camp Marc Latham

37. Gatekeeper of Light: Girtin’s Bamburgh Castle Marc Latham

38. That’s All We Need! Marc Latham

39. Seeing Stars at Sunset Caroline Gill

40. Cloud Carpet and Ceiling Marc Latham

41. Summer Garden Claire Knight

42. The Grand Old Duke of York Norman Bissett

43. Grandson’s Gift Claire Knight

44. To Heaven or Hell Marc Latham

45. Cross Channel Norman Bissett

46. Planet of the Rings Marc Latham

47. Constitutional Crisis Wendy Webb

48. Stereotypical Werewolf Transformation Marc Latham

49. Peesie Norman Bissett

50. Of Man and Wolf Marc Latham

51. Equinox: Day and Night Share Evenly Twice a Year Marc Latham

52. Some Clouds Have a Golden Lining: Vertical Version Marc Latham

53. Some Clouds Have a Golden Lining: Horizontal Version Marc Latham

54. Surface Trilogy 1: the Physical Marc Latham

55. Surface Trilogy 2: Human Image and Self Marc Latham

56. Surface Trilogy 3: The Mind, Imagination and Myth Creation Marc Latham

57. Fistful of Dollars Marc Latham

58. Haircut in a Mirror? Marc Latham

59. Confusion Janet Jarrell

60. My Name is Nobody Marc Latham

61. Hiking Hadrian’s Wall in August Marc Latham

62. Summer Evening Sky Show Marc Latham

63. Self-portrait in a Wet Summer Day Marc Latham

64. I’m With You Janet Jarrell

65. A Writer/Poet’s Life Marc Latham

66. Resistance is Futile: Foundations of Independence Marc Latham

67. Truth is Enough for Existence Marc Latham

68. Leeds City Towpath Treasures Marc Latham

69. Caved Sarah James

70. String Theory Marc Latham

71. Railway Line Division Vision Marc Latham

72. Crossing the Rubicon Marc Latham

73. Yet Through the Pain Marc Latham

74. Humanity is the Filter of the World Marc Latham

75. Keeping it Clean: Humanity, Environment and Earth Marc Latham

76. Prince Philip Walks a Fine Line Marc Latham

77. New Year 2010 Poem Marc Latham

78. Snowcatcher: Cradler of Cosmic Latte Marc Latham

79. Divided Earth Marc Latham

80. Chaos and Order Within the Universe Marc Latham

81. Housebound Claire Knight

82. The Reverse Werewolf Transformation Marc Latham

83. Hourglass of Time Claire Knight

84. How’s That for a Mexican Hat? Marc Latham

85. Norma’s White Dwarf Colour Composer Marc Latham

86. Space from Singularity Expanding Universe Marc Latham

87. Cosmic Jellyfish of the Hourglass Nebula Claire Knight

88. Our Land and Wonderland Above and Below the Rabbit Hole Marc Latham

89. Valentine’s Day Rose Claire Knight

90. Muse Scattered Seeds for Poets to Harvest Marc Latham

91. Lakeside Cairns – Nepal Claire Knight

92. Wonders of the South Park Solar System Marc Latham

93. Easter Nonsense Marc Latham

94. Hopes Rise With the Sun Marc Latham

95. The Skull of Eyjafjallajokull Marc Latham

96. PUNTA DELLA DOGANA Wendy Webb

97. Hazy Horizon Optical Illusion Marc Latham

98. Jet Landing Through Cloud Marc Latham

99. Music of Silence Vinay ‘Leo’ Ravindranath

100. British Electorate Reunite Long Lost Political Twins Marc Latham

101. Gold and Paper Compared Marc Latham

102.  Alphabetica Mirroretica   Marc Latham

103.  Immersion Meeting Mirror  Marc Latham

104.  A Knight of Passion  Claire Knight

105.  The Universe in a Planck  Marc Latham

106.  Event Horizon  Marc Latham

107.  I Mirror, Therefore I Zebra  Marc Latham

108.  Chameleon Mix and Match Conundrum  Marc Latham

109.  Ant Theory – according to Marc Latham  Claire Knight

110.  Islands of the Sky and Sea  Marc Latham

111.  A Member of the Human Race Between Time and Place  ML

112.  Inside Out   Marc Latham

113.  Reflecting on Reality, the Reality of Reflections    Marc Latham

114.  Cloverfield Central  Marc Latham

115.  The Devil Rides Out…Of You!  Marc Latham

116.  PEACE DAY POEM  Marc Latham

117.  Backward Static Messages  Marc Latham

118.  Libran Scales  Marc Latham

119.  Time Stands Still  Marc Latham

120.  Through the Looking Glass Reflect Future and Past  ML

121.  ATM in the AM: Atacama Thought Mission in the Morning  ML

122.  All Cooper  Marc Latham

123.  Samhaim to Halloween  Marc Latham

124.  Vera, Pink Floyd, Doris  Marc Latham

125.  The Whistle Cried Heavy  Marc Latham

126.  Remembrance Day Poem  Marc Latham

127.  Reflecting on Poems of your Future  Marc Latham

128.  Through the Looking Glass  Marian O’Brien Paul, Ph. D.

129.  Slipping  De Jackson

130.  Wizardry  Mike Bayles

131.  Dawn Cinderellas Pink Candy Dance  Marc Latham

132.  Palindrome, I  De Jackson

133.  Winter Cycle  Claire Knight

134.  The God PiL  Marc Latham

135.  A Winter’s First Light  Claire Knight

136.  I Can See Through You, Why Don’t People Understand Me  ML

137.  SOS  Denise Margaret Hargrave

138.  Two Days When My Cultural Worlds Collided    Marc Latham

139.  time to wonder  Sarah James

140.  ROY G BIV: Reflecting on Rainbows  Marc Latham

141.  The Photo Album  Sarah James

142. MECHOGI ANDROS (Magi, Echotain, Andropian combined) Wendy Webb

143. Twist and Shake the Snake   Marc Latham

144. The Diamond Mermaid   Marc Latham

145. Nature’s Kaleidoscope   Jean Knill

146. cinders   Zoya Gautam

147. I Am What You See Marc Latham

148. Koala(ity) on a Eucalyptus Tree at Sunset   Marc Latham

149. For God’s Sake   Marc Latham

150. Life Reality and Media Publicity   Marc Latham

151. Middle-Age Memories   Marc Latham

152. Ring a Ding Ding, it’s Spring   Marc Latham

153. Earth Hour   Marc Latham

154. Space Brain Becoming Plain   Marc Latham

155. Simplicate, Implicate, Complicate Marc Latham

156. Greenygrey Sandwich   Marc Latham

157. Surreal Water Wheel   Marc Latham

158. The Futility of Life and Death   Marc Latham

159. Driving Through the Desert   Marc Latham

160. Human and Society Chicken and Egg Dilemma Oddly Solved   Marc Latham

161. Mine Bipolar Mind   Marc Latham

162. Climbing Over the Hill   Marc Latham

163. What’s Your Work Worth?   Marc Latham

164. Spring into Life   Marc Latham

165. Diffraction Delivers Sensory Satisfaction   Marc Latham

166. See Below Sea   Marc Latham

167. Turning Around OCD   Marc Latham

168. Denied D9   Marc Latham

169. Dark Knight Fights Against Joker’s Delights   Marc Latham

170. Following the Last Light   Marc Latham

171. Art of Humanity   Marc Latham

172. Status Haters   Marc Latham

173. Distraction in Spin Action   Marc Latham

174. Too Many Gods Spoil the Earth   Marc Latham

175. When the Muse has no Consideration   Marc Latham

176. Summer’s Sunset Soliloquy   Marc Latham

177. Hope for Humanity or Full Speed to Calamity?   Marc Latham

178. My God, An Insect   Marc Latham

179. When Earth and Sky are as One   Marc Latham

180. Times of Dry   Marc Latham

181. Future to the Back   Marc Latham

182. Autumn Air Spins Summer Samaras to Equinox Earth Marc Latham

183. Untitled   KJP Garcia

184. Untitled   KJP Garcia

185. Untitled   KJP Garcia

186. Untitled   KJP Garcia

187. Flight of Imagination Returns to Memory Destination Marc Latham

188. Untitled   KJP Garcia

189. Between City and Sky, Let Your Mind Fly   Marc Latham

190. Between Times of Fantasy   Marc Latham

191. Eagle Down   Marc Latham

192. Falling Autumn Gold   Marc Latham

193. Embracing Sea at Midnight   Marc Latham

194. Not Love, Gnat Empathy   Marc Latham

195. Surfing Sea Psyche   Marc Latham

196. Contented Living, Contents of Dreaming Marc Latham

197. When Life Looked into the Mirror of Death  ML

198. Dying to Live, Living to Die Marc Latham

199. Changing of the Guard Marc Latham

200. Natural Disasters Marc Latham

201. The Day of Double Eastern Delight ML

202. Multitasking Medley  Marc Latham

203. Werewolf of Oz: Molly Mook  Marc Latham

204. Valentine Night Sky Marc Latham

205. Inner Strength, Mental Health  Marc Latham

206. News of World – Sky – Sun on Sunday Marc Latham

207. Constellations of the North and South  Marc Latham

208. Shadowless Seconds on Earth’s Equator Marc Latham

209. Y Green and Grey Go Together Marc Latham

210. SAGAS: Solipsistic Astronaut Gravitates Agnostic Space ML

211. As each second of the present passes… Marc Latham

212. Sacrifice and Celebration ML

213. Living in the Middle-Ages ML

214. For Richer, For Poorer, In Life and In Death ML

215. Breathing Works Both Ways ML

216. Night is a Part of Day ML

217. Orbital Perceptions ML

218. Life has More Meaning than Death ML

219. Tale of the Weakness Tail ML

220. On the Surface of it, Ants… ML

221. Blue Skies, Delta Blues ML

222. The Caterpillar and Butterfly: Metamorphosis in the Middle ML

223. Basket Case ML

224. Shamanism and Science ML

225. Search and Destroy ML

226. Last Birthday, First Life ML

227. Greeting Sunshine, Saying Goodbye ML

228. Travelling Humanity’s Existential Contrasts ML

229. October 16th, 2012 ML

230. Poems of the Prose ML

231. Halloween Howls Samhain Sighs ML

232. Bombs Away May, Return Another Day ML

233. On the River Dart ML

234. Balloonist Baumgartner, Flying Felix ML

235. Learning to Fly, Remembering to Swim ML

236. Platoon Protagonist, Life Lessons ML

237. Bath Time Talk Back ML

238. Circadian Rhythm, Poetic Decision ML

239. Mid-Winter Rainbow’s Pot of Gold ML

240. Late Snow Arrives, All Seasons Leave ML

241. Imagination Inspires, Physical Produces ML

242. Waning Winter, Sensing Spring ML

243. Freezing Eggs Easter, Christmas Cards Recycle ML

244. Fog and Smog, Sun lights Fame ML

245. Lost in Care, Ignore the Repair ML

246. Essentially Water, Landing Dependent ML

247. Abundant Life, Lives Absolutely ML

248. Water Landscape, Mountain Canvas ML

249. Summer Solstice, Natural Celebration ML

250. Lights of Life, Homes to Humanity ML

251. Morning Motion, Circadian Creation ML

252. Canopy Climb, View Sublime ML

253. Preparing for Summer Departure, No Time for Laughter ML

254. Good Summer Season, Warmly Welcomes Autumn ML

255. Highest Railway Line, A Beautiful Time ML

256. Aristotle’s Disciples Meet, Middle Divides Ages ML

257. Dingo Lingo ML

258. Gaia’s Gravity, Alien Attraction ML

259. Summer Jumps South, Autumn Falls North ML

260. Human Direction, Wildlife Freedom ML

261. Defenders of Nature, Demonised as Witches ML

262. Not Everything Matters, All is Matter ML

263. Heaven’s Christian Pope, Providing Community Hope ML

264. Happy Xmas Horizon, Mid-Winter is Over ML

265. Loved Moments Caught in Time, Helps to Loosen Winter Grip ML

266. Asthmatic Achievement, Mountain Magnificence ML

267. Cold Play Words, Warm Poem Creation ML

268. Completing Cycle, Living Life ML

269. Drown Song, Sun Dry ML

270. Anagram Ocean Inspiration, Navigating Uncharted Metaphor ML

271. Debbie Harry and Taylor Momsen, New York two Generations R&R ML

272. Folding Mirror Finished, Normal Service Resumed ML

273. Wander the World, Insects and Imagination ML

274. Women and Wolves, Different ways Delectable ML

275. Train Journey Rise and Fall, Either Side of Offa’s Dyke ML

276. Winding Between, Two Roads ML

277. Height of Spring, Stars order Heart ML

278. One Way Optic Nerve, Visual Cortex Return Signals ML

279. Spring or Summer, Sun flares Whenever ML

280. Translucent Fall, Rise Transparent ML

281. Looking Forward and Back, Aspiring to Fall Longer ML

282. Entrancing Haze, Thoughtful Phase ML

283. Wolves 2012 Calendar, October Star Wolf ML

284. Particular Preciousness of Thinking, Thought Superior to Reaction ML

285. Happiness Over Horizon, Jiving With Janis ML

286. Before Burns, Brudenell Boys ML

287. Mark E. Smith and the Magnificent Seven ML

288. Suffragette Maud, Made Suffering ML

289. Gossip ist Schwein, Silence is Golden ML

290. Doctor of Philosophy, Explaining 3 Dimensionality ML

291. Circular Diamond, Dimension Zero ML

292. Atacama Photo Memory, Ata Alien Story ML

293. Coffee Has-Beans, Tea-Leaf Cleans ML

294. Searching Icy Moons, Mind Inside Surface ML

295. Advancing in Numeration, Nurturing of Automation ML

296. Chemical Elements, Wordplay Ingredients: Iron Beryllium, Gold Vanadium ML

297. Insect I’s No News, Muse Letters’ T’s Truths ML

298. Flower and Butterfly, Live or Die ML

299. Hair Today Gone Tomorrow, Dinosaurs Example to Follow  ML

300. Poem of Two Halves, Alphabet Letters and Themes ML

301. I Am Your Writing Hero, You Are My Beloved Readers ML

302. Society of Crosswords, Clues are Scrambled  ML

303. As Humanity peels, sleep Homage Appeals  ML

304. Planetary Journey Around Star, Rings In The Changes ML

305. October Retreat, Fate Complete ML

306. Armistice Soldiers’ Centenary, Community Politicians’ Buffoonery ML

307. Leaves Symbolise Heart Love Cycle, Stand Eternal Life Art Rocks ML

308. As Brain Shrinks, Squeezed Information Links ML

309. Human Beauty Secret Guilty, Distraction from Njörðr Horror ML

310. To Heal the Living, Creating the Life Given ML

311. UFOs Amazing Manoeuvres! Destructive Crash Disprovers? ML

312. Physical Gravity, Dextrous Mentality ML

 

New Sarah James Folding Mirror Poem

I’m very happy to present to you a new Sarah James folding mirror poem (Fireworks) and explanation (Inspired) of its creation.

Like the form itself, the poem was inspired by the haiku, and developed into a folding mirror, with the two halves of the poem nicely divided in the descriptions of emotion and practice by a folding middle line: unless now and then

The structure mirrors either side of the fold without the words in the opposite line always replicating.

Thanks to Sarah, and I hope you all enjoy it.

 Inspired

 

Influences and inspiration can be subtle. This year I have been taking part in Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides’ Poem a Day for April (poetry month). I have also been trying to keep a haiku diary, as well as reading and contributing to the folding mirror blog. Of course, they all have one obvious thing in common – poetry. But it was only when the poem a day theme happened to be ‘routine’ that the three subconsciously converged in my poem Fireworks.

 

What started as a haiku thought wouldn’t quite fit to tight conciseness of the form. Words and ideas pushed the boundaries and I slipped, almost without realising it,  into Marc’s folding mirror form (probably subconsciously influenced by his posts describing his original syllabic, haiku inspiration).

 

The mirror line is the turning point in a poem about the need sometimes to free oneself in life and poetry from routine and traditional established forms. That the poem should break out of one form (haiku) to end up in a different form (folding mirror) adds irony. When does breaking free of one routine or tradition become another routine or tradition?

 

Fireworks

 

Routine rhythms life

but meaning sometimes slips, lost

between the stresses.

Or it tumbles out of line,

unless now and then

you help set it free and let

creation explode –

like this poem sparks and bursts
from haiku routine.

Mountain Mirror: Nature’s Citadels

There is another early folding mirror below, and this one starts and ends on the floor under a mountain, with the folding middle line the summit.

The Poem

The top half of the poem is the climb up, the ascent, while the bottom half is the walk down, the descent.

The poem evokes images of mountain peaks, the scenery that makes it all worthwhile, and the feelings of awe and anticipation at arrival and achievement and sorrow afterwards.

Between the two emotions is the peak.

The Structure

Many of the lines feature the same words in each line on both sides, while some lines switch the words around within the line.

An example of the latter is how ‘lime and tan replaced by ebony and ivory’ on the way up the mountain in the first half of the poem is reversed on the way down in the second half of the poem.

Get on your hiking gear, watch your footing, and please enjoy the climb!

Mountain Mirror: Ascent and Descent

On terra firma, gazing to the skies.

Before us,                                                     

a mountain of majesty, standing so proud.

Ascending, the narrow path leaves little room.

Onwards and upwards, we see the valley disappear below,

lime and tan replaced by ebony and ivory.

Through clouds, ice and snow we climb.

As it steepens, sheer cliffs we navigate;

the peak is within a stone’s throw.

 On the summit; freezing but ecstatic, on top of the world.

 We leave the peak with reluctant hearts;

with careful steps, sheer cliffs we navigate.

Through clouds, ice and snow we climb;

ebony and ivory replaced by lime and tan.

Onwards and downwards, we see the summit disappear above,

Descending, the narrow path leaves little room.

A mountain of majesty, standing so proud, 

Behind us.

On terra-firma, gazing to the skies.

 

Geographic Poles Inspired Poetry

After the serious topic of the first folding mirror the next few mixed nature, football and comedy as their subjects, and the one featured below managed to combine two of the three.

The poem uses the equator as the folding middle line, and mirrors the north (top half) and south (bottom half) poles.

Structurally, the poem succeeds in mirroring the word count and metre of the lines in each half, but the punctuation doesn’t mirror.

With the words, watch how gloom and room switch between the outer and next to outer lines in the two halves of the poem.

Both halves contain references to the cold and solitude in the poles, but the life form chosen for the top half is more humouros and the bottom half more tragic.

Enjoy!

 

Long way from the Equator

Mountains of ice, winter gloom.

Not many people, plenty of room.

Polar bears,

get plenty of stares

Long way from the Equator

Scott and Oates lost

their lives,

Humans are rare, plenty of gloom,

Icebergs of doom, winter room.

Haiku and The Simple Idea of Folding Mirror

The folding mirror poetry can be as simple or complex as you want to make it.

Haiku

Take the haiku form, which was the main inspiration for the folding mirror.

Haiku works on a five seven five syllable format, so that’s:

syllable syllable syllable syllable syllable
syllable syllable syllable syllable syllable syllable syllable
syllable syllable syllable syllable syllable

Over the centuries and many miles of travelling the  haiku form has been experimented with and adapted, and the same has already happened with the folding mirror form.

Haiku Inspires Folding Mirror

When I first thought of the folding mirror I just thought that the structure of two halves of poetry should mirror each other either side of a folding middle line. 

For example, in the structure below, the lines on the outside have three words, the middle lines have two words and the lines nearest to the folding mirror line have four words:

word word word
word word
word word word word

folding mirror line

word word word word
word word
word word word

The Development of Folding Mirror

However, when Writelink ran a folding mirror competition some poets interpreted the form more strictly, with even the words mirroring each other in the two halves, while others tried a looser form, with the two sides not even mirroring each other structurally.

It was great to see the form developing so quickly, and also how it inspired lots of great ideas and poetry.

Recent Experimentation and Inspiration

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with the folding line, and how it can either stand alone, link the two halves, end the first half of the poem or begin the second half.

It has also inspired me to read and interpret ten Romantic paintings in a way that I wouldn’t have done without the form.

So hopefully there is a lot of use for the folding mirror form, and it will inspire poets to pen innovative poetry for years to come.