Haiku...Prayer of the Heart

I have discovered that the best form of prayer for me is to write from
the heart.  With paper and pen, immersed in the beauty of nature,
I continue to be amazed at God's revelation to me as the holy words
begin to float across the page.  My favorite form of writing is poetry and
haiku.  This was not my favorite literary form of writing as as a high school scholar.  I can remember when being directed to write a poem or haiku, I would just cringe.  Getting the structure and rhyme mechanics just right consumed too much of my energy.  I would like to think that if my teachers told me "just to write from the heart" maybe I would have had a better appreciation for it.

The Haiku is a short Japenese poem, composed of three lines.  The first and third line have five syllables, the second line has seven syllables. Tom Lowenstein, in his book Haiku Inspirations, sees haikus as "poems to appreciate in their own right"- they "reveal their hidden essence" and "offer inspiration."

Sister Macrina Wiederkehr describes the haiku as a work of art: "Take one particular event and try to get it into focus.  Put a frame around this experience as though it were a piece of art.  The Divine Artist is standing nearby trying to help you reverence the shades and colors of your life.  As the curtain is drawn up on one of your life's memories be prayerfully present at the scene.  Just receive it without any judgment about it."
(Gold in your Memories)
In other words, this says to me "let God do the work. You don't have to work so hard at it." Here are a couple of Macrina's haikus from the above book:
A tiny gold leaf
offers a silent sermon
from a barren branch.

My first memory of snow
Oh so much sugar, I thought
falling from heaven.

Kathleen Deignan, in her book Thomas Merton, When the Trees Say Nothing, states that Merton's writings on nature "awaken the naturalist in us, or the poet, or the creation mystic.  Perhaps he will aid us in recovering our senses that were fashioned to behold the wonders all around us."

I frequently write my haikus as a response to my morning meditation. With pen in hand, in the presence of a lit candle or sitting outside on by bench surrounded by magnificent trees and listening to bird song, I let God use my pen to manifest the sacred encounter within me.  Here are a few that I have written over the past month.
In night time silence,
gazing at the Living Flame,
Presence surrounds me.

Mary and Martha
lovers of the Divine Guest,
both prayer and action.

Stand up, awaken
behold God's amazing sight
nothing else matters.

I go forth to work
with you as my centerpoint
to spread your embrace.

This night of silence
draws me into blissful peace,
God's Holy Embrace.

If my high school teacher would have told me to go sit under a tree and write whatever flowed from within my heart, maybe I would have written the following haiku:

Holy Tree of Life
Illuminated Beauty
Surround me in Love.