Writing haiku in Glacier National Park
Inspired by a boardwalk nature trail with haiku on the panels, we returned to our campsite to compose our own silly haiku. You remember haiku from elementary school? Those three-line poems with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third? Maybe if traveling doesn’t work out, we can become roving bad-haiku missionaries. Here are our favorites from our haiku-session in Glacier National Park:
Paul
The Large Man Hiketh and Contemplates the Second Helping of Fried Chicken He Had at Lunch
Waddle. Step. Regret.
The path is long like my belt.
Heft the food baby.
The Nuanced Gun Laws of the National Parks
Your gun is legal,
but you mustn’t discharge it.
That’s against the law.
Seeking Nature … Kinda
Scary grizzly bear.
Bring spry, bells, shouts, songs, sneakers.
You’ll never see one.
Pissed Off at Pistons
Thanks, motorcycle.
Thank you, diesel-engine truck.
I’m sick of quiet.
An Obscure Encino Man Reference Sums Up Our Travels
Nine months on the road.
The cheese is old and moldy.
Where is the bathroom?
Lamenting the Bottom of the Boxed-Wine Bladder
Three liters of wine
is four regular bottles.
Gone too soon again.
Hiking in the National Parks With Every Other Citizen of the World
Solitude in groups
is elusive and fleeting.
Take what you can get.
Lisa
I left my haikus untitled – they’re pretty straightforward.
Writing haiku and
drinking wine after a hike
all’s well in Glacier
Yesterday I said
I may be ready to quit
but today I’m not
I do like to work
but I hate having a job
Jeff says with a grin
The van, it smells like
cheese, and feet, and sometimes dust
but it’s home to me
Feel peace descend when
the trail clears and up ahead
Just you and a view
Warm beer t’aint so bad
when the sun is beating down
’tis better than none
(inspired by our attempts to use t’aint, c’aint, and h’aint in a haiku)
Wearing brown green tan
I’m a real nature girl now
a part of the woods
(Paul quote: ‘Real’ has one syllable unless you’re talking about Real Madrid!)
I love the desert
alive despite all the signs
here I feel at home
Must we really age?
No: when we are old, we’ll have
our young memories
Do you remember
when it was cold and we froze
but we were alone
Do you remember
drinking champagne under stars
stars in our glasses
