Hi Voyagers!
Today I wrote my 3,000th haiku—and then I wrote a few more.
lost in memories
I almost drown in the past
rescued by child's voice
Milestones are important not because the numbers mean anything in themselves but because they give us an excuse to celebrate our work—something we don’t do often enough as adults.
They are also a good time for reflection. When I wrote my 2,000th haiku, I asked myself if I still wanted to keep writing these little poems. I did. I do.
When I first started recording my seventeen-syllable poems in an Excel spreadsheet, I had no idea what it would turn into. Now, I have a brand built around poetry, especially haiku. I’ve published four haiku collections (two books and two zines) and am about to publish Wild Divinity which will be my 5th collection of haiku, 6th collection of poetry, 2nd full-length illustrated book of poetry, and my 1st full-length book of illustrated haiku.
Plus, I have this daily newsletter that you so kindly keep reading.
I don’t yet make a full-time income (or even part-time income) from poetry, but each month I get a little closer.
Here are some of my other milestone haiku:
#1
I did my research
costs, features, and quality
I bought the red one
Date: 2/10/2016
I originally started writing these as marketing gimmicks for social media posts for my copywriting business. This haiku was about how we always make emotional decisions that we post hoc justify with facts.
#500
my man loves me true
he's proud of his pirate gal
if not—run him through
Date: 6/15/2016
This one was written during my pirate haiku phase. It was published in my Pirate Haiku book in the chapter called Pirate Love Letters.
#1,000
tried to change the past
couldn’t overcome past self’s
belief future fixed
Date: 3/29/2018
This poem is one of more than 100 haiku I have written about time travel. This year I will be publishing these in some form or another.
#2,000
comune with the dead
to avoid fraternizing
with living beings
Date: 11/30/20
This haiku hits on death, a theme I can’t stop returning to. I have a nebulous notion to collect haiku about death and grief, but I don’t have any solid plans for that right now.
#2,500
we slathered the bright
spring wildflowers all over
each other's bodies
Date: 4/29/21
This haiku appeared in my second zine, The Joy of Nothing. This was when I was pairing haiku with my abstract art. I was also extremely interested in bringing surrealist elements into my haiku—something I still occasionally experiment with. I was getting closer to the haiku comics I wanted to make but wasn’t quite there yet.
The haiku master Issa left behind more than 20,000 haiku when he died. I think 25,000 sounds like a good lifetime milestone for me. That means I need to keep writing because I’m not even 10% of the way there!
Thanks for your continued support of Weirdo Poetry!
Cheers,
Jason
Congrats on the milestone and all of your accomplishments, Jason! I’m excited for Wild Divinity!
Well done, Jason! Haiku #2000, heavy and spot-on.