Create or Die

I find that when I am really sad I must create. I got to do something to keep my hands and brain occupied. It's create or die.

Luckily I had some orders to think about. I had one for a little bald baby with a  bow instead of hair. It's been a long time since I made one. Since the first one looked so sweet I kept going and made a second one to list in my shop.

The children have been studying poetry at school. They talked about Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, the other day. I didn't really know what it was. I often see Haiku writing contests in the paper. So I thought I'd check it out. I found a book at the library The Haiku Anthology by Cor Van Den Heuvel.

The book said that Haiku are short poems that talk about an image from nature and connect it to the human condition. They do that in 17 syllables. Most people seem to think that it's a three-liner with 5-7-5 syllables per line. That's what my daughter was told to do at school. The library book said it didn't matter, that anything under 17 syllables was okay.  I couldn't decide whether to write one in English or German. So this is what I came up with.

Kirschblueten vor dem Fenster
    Kinderlachen draussen vor der Tuer
           Wieso hast Du uns verlassen?

Cherry Blossoms in my window
Children's laughter at my door
       Why did you leave?
  
I know they are not quite right. Especially the German version is too long. But I just couldn't think of ways to shorten it. Any advice?

When I run out of prayers I turn to art. How about you?