Nature Poems And Haiku - A Perfect Match

Ah poetry and nature. Two things that naturally go togther. But if you're looking for nature poems that really get it so to speak, you should look into haiku. Why? Because haiku is especially suited for describing nature. For example, take a look at these two nature poems by the author:

Nature Poem #1

egrets move
through the marsh...
morning clouds

Here we have "egrets" as our subject. A beautiful bird that most people either have seen in a picture or are familiar with. In just 7 words a picture is created. And not just any picture but a complete scene! First we have the phase "egrets move through the marsh." Nothing special in itself. But, when we combine this with the fragment "morning clouds," we get a picture of place and time - a sense of something happening.

What economy and word pruning this is! Nature poems by western writers may contain thousands of words but for sheer size and power, nothing beats the haiku! Here's another example of a nature poem:

Nature Poem #2

winter shoreline --
sandpipers dart
into the water

In this nature poem we have the fragment first instead of the phrase. The fragment is like the background of a painting…it sets the mood of the poem. The words "winter shoreline" conjure an image of a quiet beach perhaps. Or it could be something else entirely. This is the beauty of haiku. It doesn't tell you so much as show you what is happening. Interpretation is left to the reader's imagination. The phrase that follows - "sandpipers dart into the water" complete the picture. It's like background and foreground in a painting. Only here we are using words to color with!

Nature poems and haiku are a natural fit and have been for hundreds of years!

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