THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY

THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY
April 12, 2016

Friday, January 27, 2012

Poetry Friday: Haikubes

I admit to buying myself an occasional gift. It might be for my birthday. (Mine is the last of our four family birthdays, which all happen within five weeks, and is at constant risk of being forgotten -- the victim of birthday malaise.)

Our birthdays are 1/16, 1/31, 2/13 and 2/22. Even the dog is in the mix, 2/17.

During the holidays, I might gift myself with a Hanukkah goodie, or something tucked under the Christmas tree, where no one will see it until it is too late.

Which is exactly where I put my set of Haikubes this year. Think Magnetic Poetry meets Mah Jong, and you'll get the idea.
Haikubes come with a variety of verbs, adjectives, nouns and two red "suggested theme" blocks.

I ordered these from one of my favorite book-lovers' catalogs, Bas Bleu.

My daughter and I have been  having a great time with these. Some of my friends in education use them as poetry starters. For Poetry Friday, I am sharing some of our favorites. Here are the photos, and a transcription if I thought punctuation was needed.

fast wind whispers hmmm --
promises grace my window,
inside: a lame tiger


curvy heart candy
oozing over your wet lips
I shiver, villain

Strictly speaking, you end up with more of a senryu than a haiku.




 My daughter felt this one required a little revision:


 I point into
dripping grass eyes, trouble
licks the gentle ground

Interesting. I never would have thought of autumn leaves as "candy-esque blocks."

I hope you had as much fun with these as we did. (We've sort of abandoned the red "theme" blocks and let the dice roll how they may.)

Jim at "Hey, Jim Hill," is our host this week. Thanks, Jim!

11 comments:

Tabatha said...

Fun post, Laura! I think I knew that our birthdays were kind of close together. Good for you for making sure your special day is not lost in the shuffle! Thanks for the tip about Bas Bleu...

jama said...

Love your Haikube poems! What fun. Must get a set of my own. I used to get the Bas Bleu catalog all the time but not any more. Must check into it. :)

Katya said...

Those Haikubes look like a lot of fun... they would be great to keep in my purse for all those times you sit around and wait (at the Dr's office, sports practice).

Tara said...

I just bought a set for my class and I'm having as much fun as they are. Thanks for sharing these!

Short Poems said...

I Love your Haikube poems, beautifully done!

All the best
Marinela

Linda B said...

I have a few of the blocks but they're on a tray, inviting a short line or 2. Amazing what phrases appear with only a few choices. My students always loved the magnetic words-like magnets drawing them in too. Love the first one: "promises grace my window".

Author Amok said...

Hi, All. I'm glad the word is getting out about these. I find them a little less overwhelming than magnetic poetry (fewer choices). It would be fun to make your own set, maybe as a classroom project -- buy some inexpensive children's blocks and have students make their own Haikubes with different words than these. (I'd vote for more focus on nature and traditional-haiku themes.)

GatheringBooks said...

I want me one of those too!!! Great alternative to Scrabble and Boggle. Will make sure to get myself one when we visit family in the US middle of this year. Love all of your haikube-creations. :)

Jim Hill said...

Haikubes look like a lot of fun, and a great way to introduce wordplay to kids (grown ups too).

Thanks for posting them. And I'll be visiting that book lovers gift website now.

Mary Lee said...

Fun stuff! I have some wooden cubes that I originally cut and sanded for number cubes in math...I could surely make myself a set of word cubes...

Ruth said...

How fun! I need to get some of these, too!