Self-isolation - a senryu

August 8th In The Year of the Pandemic 2020

Today's poem is a senryu. I wrote this for an extremely prestigious competition a few months ago and it came joint third. The competition could not have been more extreme or prestigious had it been organized by the International College of the Prestigiuously Extreme! 😉

I was very pleased and surprised. Mind you, I always have been easily pleased although these days I'm finding that less and less surprises me. But on this occasion, I was.  

For those of you not familiar with the senryu or haiku forms, (from Wikipedia) both senryu and haiku are types of short-form poetry originally from Japan. 

Traditional Japanese haiku/senryu consist of three phrases or lines that contain a kireji, or "cutting word" in a 5, 7, 5 syllabic pattern and a kigo, or seasonal reference. However, modern haiku vary widely on how closely they follow these traditional elements. Senryu tend to be more about human foibles, darkly cynical but not always. 

Stay safe in these difficult times.

Allan

Self-isolation

Self-isolation

is not a four-letter word.

It's longer than that!