Neon boulevard
the night slips by
a tinted windscreen
This poem by Simon Hanson was first published in The Mainichi, Japan’s National Daily, October 24, 2016. Selected by Isamu Hashimoto.
Simon contacted me a couple of weeks ago and sent me over 20 haiku he thought may be suitable for musical exploration. Among them, there are some of the best poems I've read in a long time, so if you like this one you can find more of his works in The Living Haiku Anthology and The Haiku Foundation websites.
"Simon has lived in a number of locations, stunning and gorgeous in various ways, from which he draws inspiration; including capital cities like Adelaide and Brisbane, tiny rural communities surrounded by rolling fields, the desert lands of central Australia where stars seem to outnumber the grains of sand and also lived in close proximity to the Pacific and Great Southern Oceans. He is interested in science, inclined to philosophical contemplations, sometimes indulges in mystical speculation, prone to bouts of wonder, and is often swept off his feet by Beauty in its myriad forms. He has three collections of poetry, one in free form, another in collaborative rengay, and most recently an eBook of haiku, Desert Stones, published by Snapshot Press. He is currently Secretary to The Australian Haiku Society."
Haiku by Simon Hanson
Picture by Ciaran O'Brien
This haiku poem is part of the Naviar haiku music challenge, where artists are invited to make music in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem. Participation is free and there are no limitations in the songs’ length or genre.
You have seven days from the posting of this haiku to submit your track. For information on how to make a submission, visit the Naviar Haiku Music Challenge page.
Submission deadline: 13th February 2019
A wonderful haiku. It definitely inspired my musical side.
So glad you found some inspiration in this Corine
cheers
Simon
I’m so pleased you liked my music. Thanks for listening.
How awesome. I am so impressed by the variety of interpretations and ways of exploring the images here – and such interesting and beautiful pieces, a deep bow to you all. It is quite a compliment to have others spend such time with ones words. In my own endeavours to be creative I seem to have fallen into poetry but my deepest admiration is reserved for musicians, they move me more than any other artist, and for this I am deeply grateful.
Here’s my response: https://youtu.be/AO8VXJipSpM