Introduction

Haiku (hy'-koo) is the ancient Japanese poetry that is set into 17 brief syllables. This is a unique idea in which to convey a thought or describe a scene. The scenes are to deal with nature and the seasons. The rule is simple, three lines, 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables. I have found that poets have broken that rule and given themselves a "poetic license", they have added one or more syllables. I have tried to stay within the rules as much as possible in this book. In some instances where the prose woould interfere with the painting, an extra line was added.

Acknowledgements

Poetry is written by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amparo Nichols
Water color & illustrations by . . . . . . Barbara Bartholomew & Amparo Nichols
Title and Japanese characters by . . . . Kristin Kusiak

Sincere gratitude to my dear friend Barbara Bartholomew who has contributed extensively to the art work and for her corroboration on this effort. I could not have done it without her.

A special Thank You to:

Kristin Kusiak for the wonderful title of this book and for her in depth research of the Japanese characters, which added a special touch to this work.