Haiku, a poetic form originating in Japan, is renowned for its brevity and ability to capture a fleeting moment or observation, often linking nature and human experience. Traditionally structured with a 5, 7, 5 syllable count, a kigo (seasonal word), and a kireji (cutting word or pause), modern haikus often adapt these rules while retaining the core spirit: sharp imagery, juxtaposition, and a focus on sensory perception to evoke insight or emotion. This concise form proves remarkably powerful for distilling complex experiences into their essential elements.
A unique demonstration of haiku’s power comes from the participants of a Gurdjieff Movements Intensive. Following weeks of intense physical and spiritual work, they were asked to express their distilled experiences in haiku form. The resulting poems offer fascinating glimpses into the internal shifts, physical sensations, and paradoxical states encountered during such deep introspection and movement.
These haikus serve as micro-analyses of profound, often non-verbal, journeys. They highlight how the haiku form, with its emphasis on the concrete image and the sudden leap of insight, can articulate the ineffable.
Consider haikus that touch upon internal states and the paradox of self:
Inside the cyclone
I meet a friend
That looks just like me
But headless
– Rajani
Been to the peak
Drowned in the valley
At the end
Basho’s Pool
Reflecting the moon
– Dhyanprem
I lost myself in the midst
Of full moon night
Wondering from there to here
Hearing the whispering
Be a light unto myself
– Prafula
These examples, while sometimes expanding beyond the strict 5-7-5 structure common in modern English haiku, retain the form’s core function: presenting an image or observation that points towards a deeper realization or feeling. The juxtaposition of internal chaos (“cyclone”) with meeting the headless self, or the high (“peak”) and low (“valley”) culminating in a reflective natural image (“Basho’s Pool”), mirrors the haiku’s traditional use of contrasting elements to create a moment of clarity.
Figures twirling during a movement sequence
Other haikus capture the physical engagement and the relationship with movement and external forces:
Like a drop of water in the ocean
I lose myself in the dances
– Zia
I ask the cyclone
From where you come?
He just blow me away.
I ask the breeze
To where you go?
She just kiss me away
– Akeed
*Dancing through the clouds
Through the clouds
Feeling the ground
Underneath my feet
More and more
Suddenly the sunlit peak….*
– Premin*
These poems use sensory details – the feeling of becoming one with the ocean, the force of the cyclone, the kiss of the breeze, the ground underfoot – to convey the physical and energetic experience of the movements. Haiku’s economy of language makes each image impactful, serving to ground abstract or intense sensations in tangible terms.
The interplay of observation, confusion, and sudden clarity is another recurring theme, well-suited to the haiku’s structure:
Seeing the gap of being or not being
In clarity and confusion
Wonderfulness
– Preyas
The wind is blowing strong
Cats scratching at my feet
It never has been any other way
– Amira
The melody of music like rain falling
I see hands and feet moving
In harmony
Tell me, who is dancing this harmony
– Bhalia
The haiku here captures moments of paradox (“clarity and confusion”), acceptance (“It never has been any other way”), or profound questioning prompted by simple observation (“who is dancing this harmony”). The short form gives weight to these internal inquiries and observations.
Figures in a movement involving touching hands
The haiku form is particularly adept at capturing transitions and states of being, highlighting distillation and essence:
Dancing on, movement
And dust raising up
So fast it has been
So silent ending up
– Giovanna
Sweet summer of hurricaine
Swept away all it can
Leaving nothing but
The womb of I am
– Dhyanprem
*Arrow shooting out of eyes
Fire dancing
Still**
– Sandipa*
These poems illustrate the haiku’s capacity to mark shifts – from movement to stillness, from external chaos to internal essence, from dynamic action to inner calm. The concise structure forces the poet to find the most potent images and juxtapositions to convey these transformations.
Figures in a movement with hands extended
The challenge of the movements, touching on vulnerability and questioning existence, is also distilled into haiku:
*Be ready right, wrong
I can, I can’t, I won’t, I will,
Fulcrum, midline and stillness.
Oh! God, I made a mistake!
Cyclone, being, center
remembering, forgetfulness.
Breathe in and breath out*
– Bhalia*
*A date with the devil –
Vulnerable, unprotected,
Uncertain, alone.
As the eye (I) of my I’s,
He blessed me with a koan:
Still as I move, silent as I speak,
Be-ing in essence
Is ‘I am’ at home?!**
– Anuradha*
These lengthier explorations, while stretching the haiku form, still adhere to the principle of presenting a core moment or insight. They capture the internal struggle and the sudden, paradoxical realization that can arise from pushing physical and emotional boundaries.
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Simpler, more traditional haikus also appear, focusing on sensory details and location:
Far away
Wind in bamboo leaves
Again, here and now
-Deepaka
*Noises come from all over
Confusion….Where to go…
Moving…………….Here!**
- Smaran*
Figures twirling during a movement sequence
These examples demonstrate the haiku’s classic ability to ground the reader in a specific moment and place, using sensory input (wind, noises) to anchor an internal state (shifting focus, moving to “Here”).
The interplay of surrender, touch, and connection is also captured:
*A leaf surrenders to a wind
As palm to palm
The wind is gone*
– Victor*
*Lend oneself to
Weaken
Surrender**
– Victor*
Figures performing a twisting or reaching movement
These concise haikus use simple, powerful images – a leaf surrendering, palm touching palm – to evoke themes of vulnerability, connection, and acceptance, central to intense group work.
The profound questions that arise are distilled into brief, evocative lines:
*Full moon night
Who is dancing?
Circles in the empty space*
– Sandipa*
*Suddenly I hear my name
“Imano! Wake up!”**
- Imano*
*Lotus posture
Sounds in the wind
Tell me: Who is in?**
– Pramada*
These haikus use the form to present a question or a stark moment of realization (“Wake up!”), relying on the final line or juxtaposition to land the full weight of the query or insight.
The collective experience and the nature of reality and effort are also themes:
*THOUGHTS coming, going
MOVEMENTS starting, ending
SILENCE eternal, home****
- Vimala*
*1,2,3,4, 5 and 6 and 7,8
Somebody dancing**
– Dhanya*
*Feeling everything
She is dancing
Alone together*
– Elena*
These haikus reflect on the process itself, the presence of others, and the ultimate return to inner stillness or “home.” They use the haiku’s structural simplicity to highlight fundamental elements of the experience: counting steps, observing movement, feeling connection within solitude.
Finally, haikus touching on letting go and finding ease:
*The mind tries to figure out
The mind wants to control –
Let the body take over
And the movement will happen by itself**
- Anandita*
*Thirty days planned
God was kind
I melted**
- Rekha*
*Winds come
Leaves fall
Dancers stand up***
- Imano*
These concluding haikus reinforce the theme of surrender and allowing, contrasting the mind’s effort with the body’s inherent wisdom or the natural flow of events. The final haiku, with its strong parallel structure, links natural phenomena (wind, falling leaves) to human action (dancers standing), a technique common in traditional haiku to suggest interconnectedness.
In conclusion, these haikus from the Gurdjieff Movements Intensive demonstrate the remarkable versatility and power of the haiku form. Beyond its traditional constraints, modern haiku serves as a potent tool for distilling intense, complex, and deeply personal experiences into concise, impactful poetic moments. They showcase how sharp observation and evocative imagery, condensed into a few lines, can capture the essence of profound physical, emotional, and spiritual journeys, making the ineffable accessible through the art of brief poetry.