Determined to shake off the misery for just one day, Margaret vowed to adhere to her self-imposed 24-hour digital detox. Word puzzles filled her first hour. A quick trip to Trader Joe’s for flowers was next. All was good, but then she caught sight of her woebegone expression in the revolving door. Without thinking, she clicked on Insta and the dopamine rush cast a temporary “woe-be-gone” enchantment. Damn, she had failed again! Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
This was originally posted on 7/25/2019 as A Change is Gonna Come (Hopefully).
Sadly, my feelings of being “uninspired or depressed or lethargic” also are like a bad flashback. Anyway … here’s to hope
The world spins around
Bringing a spark of new hope
As fuel for the flames
I’ve been WP MIA for a couple of weeks. Between the heat and the constant rain and the general state of our world, I’ve been uninspired or depressed or lethargic. “Whatever” has been my go-to feeling of late. Ugh. But I’m trying to lift myself out of it. So thanks to Sue’s beautiful photo challenge for giving me a hopeful image to go along with the spark of hope coming out of Puerto Rico.
Today, I wrote a senryu that sums up the state of my current “human condition.”
What is a senrue?
A form with 3 or more lines following the short-long-short, 3-5-3, 2-3-2, (5-7-5 traditional) approximately twelve syllables. Senryu do not rhyme, nor do they contain metaphors and similes.
A senryu is written about love, human foibles relating to a personal event, and should have an element of irony present somewhere in the form. Humor and sarcasm are two of the most favorable elements in a senryu. But not always… think in tone. What is the tone of your senryu?
Senryu focus on the awkward moments in life making the human, not the world around them, the subject of their creative endeavor. Senryu poetry deals with the human condition. The most important distinction between haiku and senryu is the tone of your poem.
Think of it this way:Haiku wants to create a feeling, while senryu wants to make a point. Focus on sexual matters, family relations, religion, politics, and anything that touches on the pain we experience through sorrow, prejudice, oppression, anger, and frustration. Humor and sarcasm are two of the most favorable elements in a senryu. No title.