Those 'moments in time'

 

“It's hard to write haiku. I mostly write long, silly Indian poems.” – Jack Kerouac

 

That having been said, Kerouac – born in March of 1922 and best remembered for his autobiographical novel On The Road – wrote a lot of haiku, scattered in among his many other writings.  On the Road, of course, is considered THE defining work of the post-WWII Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonists living life against a backdrop of jazz, poetry, and drug use.  It was based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across America.   But, for Saturday’s Poems, here are 3 of Kerouac’s “most-liked” (his words) haikus. I like them too.  .

 

                                           Holding Up My

Holding up my
purring cat to the moon
I sighed.

Birds Singing

Birds singing
in the dark
—Rainy dawn.

 

                                           The Low Yellow

The low yellow
moon above the
Quiet lamplit house.