Each day in 2020, I’m adapting that day’s entry from the book “365 Tao: Daily Meditations” into a haiku. I’m doing this, though, following the structure of “Blackout Poetry.” I darken the words I’m not using and highlight those I am, thus allowing my haiku to emerge from the page. At the end of each seven day period, I post the previous seven as a string of haikus.
May 20-26:
Life experience.
A large pattern will shape us.
Emerge beautiful.
Sit and contemplate.
Respond to inner urgings.
Retreat into you.
Lives do not need doubt.
Avoiding interference,
come to what is right.
Direct truths to find
eternal experience.
Genuine action.
Take in one subject.
Glimpse of self-cultivation.
A brilliant presence.
In time for ourselves,
we center meaning and hope.
Be the force flowing.
The skillful surprise,
flexible to circumstance.
Personal nature.
ARCHIVE:
- 13-19 May 2020
- 06-12 May 2020
- 29 Apr – 5 May 2020
- 22-28 Apr 2020
- 15-21 Apr 2020
- 8-14 Apr 2020
- 1-7 Apr 2020
- 25-31 Mar 2020
- 18-24 Mar 2020
- 11-17 Mar 2020
- 04-10 Mar 2020
- 26 Feb – 3 Mar 2020
- 19-25 Feb 2020
- 12-18 Feb 2020
- 5-11 Feb 2020
- 29 Jan – 4 Feb 2020
- 22-28 Jan 2020
- 15-21 Jan 2020
- 08-14 Jan 2020
- 01-07 Jan 2020
Kind Living 
So did you have this book and you decided to do this? I have wanted to but I didn’t know if I should actually buy a book to do it or just download some pages of a pdf. Sorry if you already said this, but how do you pick the words?
I’ve had the “365 Tao” book for quite some time (although I did buy another copy for this project) and I’ve long enjoyed the concept of “blackening out” words on a page to leave a poem behind. My process is to read each day’s entry to absorb what it has to say. From that, I let a 5 syllable phrase at the beginning or end of the entry find me. From that phrase, I fill in the other two lines of the haiku in a personal meaningful way.
If you like this concept, take a look at another of my projects at https://page143.org. Feel free to follow the directions there and submit to me a poem. I’d be pleased to include it on that site, provided it meets the criteria.
Thanks for writing in!
–Andy
I will definitely take a look!