For The Love Of Port

Port is the wine dark
See! How it fogs the ev'ning;
Calms the mind and soul.

It still isn't quite right. The third line should point up a new way of looking at the idea expressed in the first two.

Maybe more like:

Port is the wine dark
See! It blazes in the glass.
Calms the mind and soul.

Still wrong; now it's three ways of looking at it. Dark; blazes; calms. Maybe: Dark & calms; turmoil.

Port is the calmer. (soother?)
It is the wine dark. See!
Blazing (Raging?) in the glass.

All I really wanted was to make a play on "wine-dark sea". [Homer] After reading the Wiki article on haiku, maybe the first version is best after all.

Anyone else have a port haiku? 5/7/5 syllables; express an idea or mood; then expand or point out a new viewpoint. There are some other rules which may or may not be followed in english-language haiku.

Thread your efforts by reply/quoting your own previous versions. Start new threads by simply replying.

If you're really ambitious, try a sonnet or sestina: more forms with elaborate rules. Following the rules while being creative is all the fun. (look up sestina on Wikipedia; it's really complicated)

If this is too off-topic for even Other Discussions, let me know, Roy.

Of the three, I prefer the first Peter.

This seems perfectly valid for Other Discussions to me.

Peter W. Meek wrote:
If this is too off-topic for even Other Discussions, let me know, Roy.

Peter,
I'm not Roy, but this is exactly what O.D. is for. Some Port Poetry is always welcome

OK, it's okay.

Now let's have some poetry. Given my bad example, no-one should hesitate to set some out to get some air.

BTW, don't hesitate to reconstruct my efforts. I may steal your ideas or reject them, but I won't dismiss them or complain about them.

Sunset in a glass,
Or a gentle campfire's glow.
Port makes me happy!

Very nice, Glenn.

It even has the "secret" word that implies a season: campfire. Almost required in traditional Japanese haiku, although not so much in modern.

Where is Stewart the poetry maestro? I would imagine he could find or create some real Port poetry!

Thanks Peter!

From Laurie Howland - a port drinker, but not, how shall I say it, obsessed with port.

In response to by first effort Laurie offered this:


Savor lush port wine.
Smooth, dark, tawny elixir
Born to cross the sea.


(Note that she has included the phrase I built my haiku around: "wine-dark sea" as single words in each line)

If anyone gets interested in writing sestinas, I have made an Excel template to assist. It allows entering the key words only at their first appearance and automatically copies the words to the other places where they repeat. I chose the commonest form of the sestina with a 3-line envoi with two of the key words in each line.

I can send a copy to anyone interested.

Sweet dark velvet crush
Beautiful ruby lushness
I sip you and smile

Very nice.

Peter, I have sent you a Private Message.