Jack Kerouac's American Haiku

This is the debut of my own poetry on this blog! This is probably a one-time thing, I don't generally share what I write, but these are fun, so there's not too high a risk of baring my soul.

Jack Kerouac reinvented the Haiku, saying, "I propose that the 'Western Haiku' simply say a lot in three short lines in any Western language. Above all, a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella". (Thanks for lending me the book, Tess!)

Some examples from Kerouac:

White clouds of this steamy planet
     obstruct
My vision of the blue void

Why'd I open my eyes?
      because
I wanted to

The pine woods
     move
In the mist

So, I woke up this morning, and wrote a few Kerouac-style American Haiku (Haiku is the plural). They're a bit wordier than his, but that's okay, because they aren't under syllabic constraint.

and this winter has turned to summer
     with a single wave of a
quivering leaf

I slept with the stars last night,
      to feel the closeness of their
celestial bodies

This morning an eagle
      flew over my head
straight to the mountains

I stole a bit of moss.
       You may laugh, but
I once had to live without forests.

If one stares at an object long enough
        in contemplation,
it becomes dear.