#monoku

[susanburch]

4/3/25

frowning walls I dare not confess

A found poem from:

Stoker, Bram. Dracula, Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1993. P. 14, 17.

[evangel108]

spectrum stars

"the spectrum lines across glass skies ... kindle starlight in glistening eyes."

Even a single line can a poetry make, and the monoku has been recognized as its own poem form since the 1970s. This poem similar to a haiku, but condensed to a single line, and may have even less than 17 syllables.

The imagery I used here is derived from an experience I had volunteering at a fireworks festival with the Starlight Children's Foundation, which is a foundation that aids sick children.

It was a monumental moment, and the vivid contrast between the fragile life and bright resilience I see in those children, as well as the brevity yet lasting impact of the moment itself, was truly a wonder to behold, and I am blessed to have the opportunity to witness/experience this event.

[brownweaselpoetry]

the sweet scent of spraypaint grand unveiling

[pixiepromptspoemflaunts]

I love all films that start with rain.

- Paterson, Don. Rain. Faber and Faber, 2009.

[shloks23]

April 6

to write by a fire. The spasm of winter unrecorded

Source: A monostich remixed from pages 339 and 152 of The Dracula by Bram Stoker.

[liyahmackenzie]

Astoundingly beautiful creative darling. Everything feels great.

[juliemellorpoet]

Tinywords

Great to have this monoku appear on the Tinywords website today. I’ve just been choosing a favourite winter poem to share with the Yorks/ Lancs haiku society, who meet monthly via Zoom. So many to choose from. In the end I went for this poignant haiku by Bill Kenney who is sadly no longer with us: winter passesa few minor revisionsto my death poem (from tap dancing in my socks, Red Moon Press,…

[sethian123]

Lamb beyond the clouds

(Monoku poem inspired by a line from the Gospel of Mary: "Beware that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you.")

[stellasstones]

forever

when a blossom blows through forever In Bones Journal 26, 2023

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Me after having to replay all those Monoku-Man arcades rn

[susanburch]

4/13/23

sympathy not a fatal illness

a remixed poem from:

Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House, Penguin Books, 2018. P.211, 179.

[brownweaselpoetry]

shedding what’s left of you cicada shell

[aparticularbandit]

Okay, but the Monoku-Man machines and the 8-bit stuff is so cool. I love it. XD

[erdbeerfrosch26]

How to give birth to your poem or in hard labour again

There is a situation, a feeling, a photo, music or even a writing prompt that startled you

Do a mind map. Dot down everything that crosses your mind

Have some fun and start playing: try different words, change the lines back and forth, try different poetry forms: haiku, monoku, tanka, gembun, haibun, haiga, cherita, nonaku, haynaku. Ask yourself which poetry form suits your poem best.

Don't overthink.

Date it.

Come back to it later. Do some editing: add more words, get rid of superfluous words, change the lines usw.

Read it aloud.

Consider submitting your poem. Where would be the best home for your poem? 

Submit!

Let it go!

Start birthing a new poem

Let's have an exemple about the process. Like everything I do change and so some books I cherished before were no longer of great importance for me. So I decided to put them into a box with a label saying that they are for free. I came back into my home with a strong feeling of renewal but there was also a spark of melancholy because I must move on and never get back to the person I used to be. 

I started writing a 2-line-haiku.

books for free

the snake is shedding her skin

But it wasn't exactely right. The main focus was on the renewal and the snake so I decided to get rid of the books a second time and include the feeling of melancholy by adding the word rain. Because I felt that what was ahead was renewal I let it be a warm summer rain. Then I transformed the poem into three lines with a clear break between line 1 and 2.

summer rain

a snakes shed skin

in the grass

I liked it better this way, but I was not satisfied. I started with books, never saw a snake and what was essentially true in this poem was the pain and joy because I was transforming into something new. And even if I was changing, this change was slow so the whole process felt like a continuum and not like a hard caesura. The next I tried was a monoku. I got rid of superfluous words (the snake, some articles) and when I read it for myself I liked the sound. Round and perfect like a polished river pebble in my palm.

summer rain old skin shed in the grass It was published in June 2023 on Poetry Pea Podcast and will be forthcoming in Poetry Pea Journal in July.

This Essay was first published in the Haiku Society of America Newsleter in August 2023

[mega-delicatelysuperbcollector]

Shop Bought Monoku

IS THE MONOKU…LUNCH-?

[stellasstones]

Included in THF Anthology 2023

Happy to see that my poem was included in The Haiku Foundation Volunteer Anthology 2023 ‘The high lonesome.’ Thanks to jim kacian and Julie Kelsey for selecting the poem.