Freestyle Haiku – Chapter 5: Struggles in Moonlight (Freestyle Haiku and Spiritual Poetry)

By Mattō

"65 poems in 16 months... This was a hard and emotionally draining time for me. Another relationship failed, I secretly slept in a hammock in an art studio when everyone left, and eventually – I gave up my Bodhi for adoption. It was an extremely trying time, but it was very beneficial to me. Ultimately, I found myself with nothing to lose, and ironically, I ended up gaining so much.

Some of my most favorite poems are in this chapter. Even though I can almost still feel the aches and pains from when I slept in the back of my truck a few times during these months, I still can't help but smile. After all, as my Lily told me while I was falling in love with her: 'You aren't homeless, just temporarily house-less. You bring your home with you.' My response was a deep embrace." -Mattō

About This Poetry:
Mattō's short poems may not seem like haiku, because they do not follow the traditional form that many readers might expect. These haiku are written in a free-verse style, that Mattō calls Freestyle Haiku. He discovered the possibility of this more freeing style of haiku from the writings of the Zen priest, Santōka Teneda (1882-1940). He wandered and traveled during the later years of his life while writing haiku.

Mattō enjoy's writing Freestyle Haiku, because it allows him to express abstract and powerful feelings in only a few words, free from a mandated structure. The words on his page are the most direct crystallization of his feelings and experiences, and the brevity of haiku draws attention to the exact words he chooses.

A meaning-rich haiku can be challenging to read; treating one like prose will leave it flat. The goal of a haiku is often to conjure up something beyond the words and their individual meanings. The reader must add themselves to the poem, to experience the words in the way they’re presented, to try and feel the poem. A good haiku will leave the reader with an experience.

About the Author:
Monk Mattō: poet, author, photographer, filmmaker, artist, inventor, teacher, engineer, carpenter, producer, entrepreneur, spiritualist, martial artist, Chimera wrestler, and Jedi Knight.

...Ok, maybe those last two are only true in a figurative sense. Monk Mattō lives in the Washington D.C. area, and enjoys cruising around on his old motorcycle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mattō
• Release date: Oct 1, 2015

Mattō

Monk Mattō: poet, author, photographer, filmmaker, artist, inventor, teacher, engineer, carpenter, producer, entrepreneur, spiritualist, martial artist, Chimera wrestler, and Jedi Knight. ...Ok, maybe those last two are only true in a figurative sense. Monk Mattō lives in the Washington D.C. area, and enjoys cruising around on his old motorcycle.

Book preview

Freestyle Haiku and Spiritual Poetry - Chapter 5: Struggles in Moonlight

By Mattō

Copyright

Copyright © 2015 by Matt Costanza. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Created in the United States of America.

First Edition, 2015

Published by Lotus Petals LLC

www.TheLotusPetals.com

Introduction

My short poems may not seem like haiku, because they do not follow the traditional form that many readers might expect. My haiku are written in a free-verse style, that I call Freestyle Haiku. I discovered the possibility of this more freeing style of haiku from the writings of the Zen priest, Santōka Teneda (1882-1940). He wandered