#toki pona haikus

65 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

fossil canopy
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This is an idea I've had for a while. It's obviously much harder to write haikus in toki pona compared to any other language, but I think that's what makes it so appealing to me.

Given the phonology of toki pona, there are two ways to write a haiku:

  • Using syllables: This is the way that haikus are written in English. Syllable final /n/ is not counted separately, and thus ko and kon are both worth one phonetic unit

  • Using morae: This is the way haikus are written in Japanese. Syllable final /n/ is counted as a separate phonetic unit, so that ko is worth one unit, and kon is worth two. Japanese has other ways of distinguishing syllables from morae, like vowel length, but this is the only distinction that can be replicated in toki pona. This method is closer to how haikus are traditionally composed, but it makes writing them even harder.

Please specify which method your using As @silver rivet mentioned, the main point of haikus is their theme and observational, non-judgemental language. While I personally enjoy the limit of 5-7-5, especially as it effects toki pona, structure is not what defines a haiku, and you are more than free to stray away from 5-7-5.

You could try writing a tanka, which is like a haiku, but a little longer. Traditionally, there are two extra 7-on lines in a Tonka compared to a Haiku

With all that said, I'll start with a syllabic haiku I wrote around an hour ago, about the rain;

telo li anpa
laso li wawa tan ni
sewi li anpa

Good luck

grizzled moon
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syllabic

suli ali la
nasin mute li ike
o lukin e lon

orchid hearth
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sewi seli la
waso li tawa anpa
pi lipu lete

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syllabic tanka (translation of Tsukikage from Honen):
mun walo li len
e supa pi ma ale
li suno e jan
taso jan lukin taso
li pilin insa e mun

mental totem
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Syllabic, also kind of dumb

soweli suli
kijetesantakalu
li suwi mute

fossil canopy
orchid hearth
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the original is a tanka too ❤️

fossil canopy
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your translation is really good, although the sentence break on the forth line is a little jarring

orchid hearth
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i did a sitelen sitelen of the translation i posted but didn't wanna spam :3 it's in the #pana channel anyway

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glad you made this thread! i've been thinking about haikus in toki pona lately too (aiku? kaiku?). they and tankas pose an interesting challenge for toki pona, but also reflect the spirit of toki pona a bit, i find!

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do you have any favorite haiku authors to give people a flavor? i like Issa a lot ❤️

fossil canopy
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i also got a haiku calendar from a relative which is what inspired me to start this thread

orchid hearth
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they are quite nice :3 i do recommend Issa if you like animals and bugz. haiku are so short you can remember favorite ones

fossil canopy
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here's a moraic haiku:

kon lete a
li kiwen e selo
pi jan ale

silver rivet
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I don't care if you break the syllable/stanza, as long as the end result is still in the spirit of haiku.
The spirit of haiku has very little to do with the structure, and far more to do with theme. I highly recommend this piece giving a brief explanation: https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5

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Given that English, which has more information per syllable than Japanese mora, is recommended to go down to 10-14 syllables rather than the Japanese 17, I have wondered how much information there is per syllable in toki pona. And then how to convey the same kinds of ideas in a language so context sensitive, it could be both harder and easier. I would definitely be following these other rules of haiku, rather than the structure. Very exciting.

orchid hearth
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tenpo open la
suno walo li jelo.
lipu li mani

orchid hearth
silver rivet
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I haven't ever done many, even in English, but...

kon lete
kalama tan noka mi,
tan waso ala

I tried to include a season vibe, mild juxtaposition, personal experience, and something presented without judgement or conclusion. Oddly, this one ended up at only 15 syllables when I assumed I'd need more, though I have used only sentence fragments, no full sentences.

fossil canopy
fossil canopy
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here's one kinda about the rain (i like the rain)
kalama li kama
tan ko sewi pimeja
pilin li sewi

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translation of one of Issa's poems
kasi moli lete
“o pana e pan sina”
waso li mu e ni

(original: 霜がれや米くれろとて鳴雀)

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i didn't know whether to use toki or mu in the last line, but I think mu fits better

orchid hearth
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mun lili mute
o awen lon poka mi!
ma li wan taso.

orchid hearth
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Retranslation of Tsukikage (still a tanka):
mun walo li len
e ma e nena e jan
e ale ale.
taso jan li jo e mun
kepeken lukin taso.

warm egret
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first attempt at a haiku:

kasi li kama
kule li wawa lon...
tenpo moli

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it follows 5-7-5 if you use mora timing but that was unintentional

pastel thistle
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oh i wrote

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like two

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or something

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a while ago

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no way of finding it honestly

fossil canopy
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and how you formatted it

orchid hearth
orchid hearth
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pimeja pini
la kon tawa li tawa
e suno tan ma

orchid hearth
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lipu li tawa!
"waso o mi kin li lon."
mu lili tan len

orchid hearth
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(lon insa pi ilo waso):

sewi li anpa!
ko walo li len e ma,
li telo suli

warm egret
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toki musi:

tenpo seli a...
mi lon pi poki seli
e mulapisu!

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another accidental 5/7/5
i almost never use the word mulapisu but i thought it fit the idea

orchid hearth
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ma sama suno
li seli li alasa
e ko lete sin

orchid hearth
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I'm going to write a little something for Lipu Tenpo about haikus. Please keep them coming! I'd love to include more.

warm egret
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suno lon ma
suwi lon nena—
telo lon pini

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haiku about petrichor

perhaps this is too abstract and maybe hard to understand
but i think i like it

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more conventional:

ma suno li
suwi e nena:
mi lon pini telo

warm egret
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a silly one

waso suli
ona li tawa seme..
e jan?

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||at the end waso was meant to be reinterpreted as plane, don’t get any ideas||

pastel thistle
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guys guys
the first lines of tawa lon linja work in a haiku
jan seme li
ken olin e pona
mi e ike mi

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anyways

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mi alasa a
e sewi pi wile mi
li lukin ala

warm egret
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sitelen tan ma suli

ma suli la
ilo li weka seme?
mi tawa a

noka en noka
ale li tawa ale—
o len e mi

..kalama
li ken pona.. ilo
li wile taso..

orchid hearth
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soweli lili.
mi tu li jo e tenpo
ante ike a.

silver rivet
orchid hearth
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Naturally, I didn't include everything from the channel. The article length limited what I could include

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I bet future Lipu Tenpo would benefit from more haikus for the arts/poetry section as well! Anyone is able to submit works for proofreading and consideration 🙂 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzw5uXqcdP-mh42WVbWXpmQrXJi15lYG8HrIvIJBf7cTofkA/viewform

warm egret
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a

silver rivet
warm egret
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a a a a a
a a a a a a a
a a a a a

mental totem
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mi pilin pona
mi pali e musi sin
mi musi mute

uncut osprey
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jan li pakala
la jan li kama sona
ale li pona

warm egret
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SONA SIN LI LON:
toki pona li owe??
kalama suli