Everyone loves nature pictures! They represent what is good and beautiful on this planet. And most everyone has heard of the poetry form know as haiku. But what most of you may not know is that there is an art form called "haiga" that combines nature pictures with haiku to create a completely new concept!

For example, take a look at this haiku by the author:

Warm summer night --
A sea lion finds
An empty rock

Now I ask you, what could be more perfect than to combine a great nature picture with this haiku poem? Each art form by itself is wonderful. But combined, they produce a synergistic effect that creates an audio-visual experience.

Many of you have probably seen examples of haiga. Greeting card producers have used this concept to advantage. Many small entrepreneurs who practice the art of haiga also have created their own cards to sell.

Here's another haiku example:

Calm spring sea --
The scent
Of approaching rain

Here we have a "picture" of the ocean. In haiku we are asked to use our imaginations to visualize the scene the poet has thought up. But when we add nature pictures to this, we have an entirely different experience. One in which we contemplate nature's beauty while we read the words. In the above example, we read that rain may occur. We couldn't possibly know this by looking at a picture of a calm spring sea, but when we overlay this haiku poem onto a nature picture, we can certainly see what may happen.

Nature pictures and haiku. They've been around for a long time and have taken form in the art know as haiga.

Edward Weiss is a poet, author, and publisher of Wisteria Press. His 2 books "Bird Haiku" and "Seashore Haiku" are now available and he is currently working on a third. Get haiku in your inbox! Sign up for our FREE daily haiku service at http://wisteriapress.com and get a fresh haiku in your inbox every morning!

Source: www.a1articles.com