
Haiku Nature - Poems For All The Elements
The collection of Haiku poems on this page, although written in English, follow the usual Japanese rule of not exceeding seventeen syllables, however the English form can be more relaxed as to where those syllables are in each sentence. It is also possible that the poem may contain less than seventeen syllables overall.
The Haiku is a wonderful exercise in using language sparingly, but at the same time conveying often profound insights and meanings. The poems here are loosely based around the natural world, and all there is to see and discover. Haiku poetry traditionally used subject matter that evoked the seasons, the landscape and the creatures and plants that we share our life with, and that appealed to the senses and beauty that human beings appreciate so much. Aligning the beauty of nature with thoughts that often preoccupy mankind is often a good way to calm the mind, and even seek a solution to a problem that may be proving evasive in everyday life to solve.
Therefore on this page of Haiku Nature poems with works that span across all the elements of fire, earth, water and air, we can seek traditional ways of soothing and engaging the mind. But let us not forget that there are other elements that we cannot always see, but may sense, and in turn might provide an unexpected answer that we might be seeking. Although otherworldly, these experiences are still part of the natural universe in which we live. We may well have been in just the right location at that precise time so we could receive that advice and help we were looking for. At other times we might be presented with an event or sight that takes our breath away with its beauty or tragedy. These experiences can be overwhelming or shocking, but in retrospect recording these experiences into words can have a profound healing effect on the mind and body.
I hope you enjoy the poems on this page and find some benefit from them. The photographs I have taken form part of the Haiku, and are regarded as the complete work. The poems and image are conjoined, making up the whole work as a final piece to contemplate.
Tree Spirit

Tree Spirit
and you were there
when I needed you
alone in autumn
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Curve

Curve
hillsides as gentle
as the curve
of a horse's back
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner