A greener form of poetry (Day 361)…

OK, this is where I’m at, folks. I’m grasping at straws, here. It’s Day 361 and desperate times call for desperate measures. Actually, to be honest, I’ve been pretty desperate for a while now — nearly every aspect of my life is being lived in the greenest way possible and it’s at the point where, if I break my leg, I don’t think “Oh my god, I broke my leg!”, I think, “Hmm, how I can green the breaking of my leg… an eco-friendly splint perhaps?”

It’s totally ridiculous, but when every product in my house, every activity, every purchase, everything I eat and drink, every move I make has been greened, well, thinking outside the box is the only option.

Which brings me to today’s post (which, yes, comes at 11:59 p.m.).

I have an English Lit degree but have never been a huge fan of poetry. I don’t mind some of the classics and if it’s not too pretentious or schmaltzy I’ll give it a whirl, but I’d never buy a whole book of the stuff. I’m horrible at writing verse; the last time I wrote anything in iambic pentameter was probably in my Writer’s Craft class in high school and I’m pretty sure I’ve burned it by now. However, there is one form of poetry that I am genuinely enjoying more and more these days: Haiku.

It forces the poet to speak his or her mind in 17 syllables — no more, no less — which is just enough space to say something, but too little space to drone on about a broken heart or a rose of dampened fire or whatever.

It’s also the most environmentally friendly form of poetry because it’s so short, thus conserving paper and ink.

Yeah yeah, I know, it’s a stretch. But come on, a little clever perhaps?

Anyway, from today on, whenever I’m crushing on a boy, I’m going to restrict myself to haikus instead of meandering, effusive verse.

Here, I’ll even write one for you readers now:

*Ahem*

Being Green
By Vanessa Farquharson

My year is ending
but there’s so much more to come;
stay tuned, dear readers

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