Seasonal Haiku Exercise

One of the necessary elements of a haiku is that it must contain a seasonal reference. This can be obvious or subtle but it is always present. One exercise that we did in the classroom that was HUGELY successful involved the Elemental Silks from Nova Natural. I sat the class in a circle, laid out the three Elemental Silks so that they formed a rainbow from purple to blue to green to yellow to orange to red, and read four haiku, one at a time. The class was completely silent and entranced. After each haiku, people quietly raised their hands and pointed to the color which best matched the mood of the poem (in their opinion) and what season they thought that corresponded to. It was magical.

Here is an example:

Crescent moon --
bent to the shape of
the cold.
Issa


These new silks are by Fairy Cove (my absolute favorite dyer of silks) and they are stunning. If you are in the market for a silk canopy (108 inches long x 54 inches wide), I recommend these! They are available in three colorways. Fire, Water, Earth.