Japanese Haiku Writing

So the title doesn't really capture the essence of what I'm going to show you guys...I really couldn't think of better words to describe it, so anyway.

So midterms were last week (I aced and Beed all of them, FYI), and my English teacher said for extra credit, since we were reading some Japanese literature last class, that we could structure a paragraph off of a haiku that we found and liked. Meaning that we would start the paragraph or story off of the three lines, then continue making a story out of it. Haikus are very short and sweet, simple pieces of writing, but that is the beauty of them, I think. That something so beautiful about nature or anything you like can be captured in as little as three lines. It's not easy to capture the essence of something in that little space, but when one does, it's beautiful.

I recently wrote my extra-credit paragraph, and I must say, I am very pleased with how it turned out. I think I'm going to make more because I enjoyed it so much. Yes, I think I will.

Here's what I have so far:


A field of cotton--
as if the moon
had flowered
~Matsuo Basho

A field of cotton--as if the moon had flowered, was spread before me, vast and emitting angelic white light from the rays of the sun, as if it were the surface of the moon.
I put my bare toes underneath the down surface, and what I felt was not cotton; it was air. Soft, fluid air. This air was like the sea moving with the summer breeze, swaying like a ball dance in a grand castle--the Castle of the Sky.
The Castle of the Sky was mysterious to many, but not myself. Much of my time was spent in the Castle, caring for it, nurturing its inhabitants, making it my own, since no one else did. Gallivanting through the Castle was my favorite pastime. No one ever lost their patience with me, for no one ruled this particular castle. It is a free land.
Yes, a free land with full green-leaved trees, bursting with luscious fruits and plentiful with beautiful sanguine blossoms. The fields were of many, endless and open with opportunity for fresh, new growth.
As I step into this balldance, these moon flowers, I make a dance of my very own, underneath the Castle of the Sky.


So, what do you think? What I was thinking is that I would make four season paragraphs out of this guy's haikus. I really like them and think they are wonderful, so I would find one for each season and write a paragraph on it. I've started autumn, but it is yet to be finished. The paragraph above would be the summer paragraph.

Happy writing, and I hope your new year is going well so far! I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying ever spare minute of free time I get! :)