Summary

The website content is a creative response to a "New Year: This or That" challenge, where the author has chosen to express their preferences through a collection of haikus and senryus.

Abstract

The author of the web content has been tagged in a "New Year: This or That" challenge by Walter Pop Matthews IV and Lu Skerdoo. Instead of the traditional prose responses, the author has ingeniously crafted a series of haikus and senryus to convey their choices. These Japanese-styled poems consist of three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5, focusing on themes of nature for haikus and human nature for senryus. The author has written a dozen such poems, each reflecting a choice between two options presented in the challenge. The choices range from personal preferences like resolutions, mountains versus oceans, fiction versus nonfiction, to broader themes like morning versus night, and sweet versus sarcastic. The author also reveals a personal connection to some choices, such as a childhood view of a hill influencing their preference for mountains and a recent shift from coffee to tea due to caffeine sensitivity. The post concludes with an invitation for others to participate in the challenge, suggesting poetry as a response format, and includes links to the original challenge posts.

Opinions

The author finds the traditional approach to New Year's resolutions to be fleeting, as suggested by the haiku implying resolutions are often forgotten by March.
Mountains are preferred over oceans, likely due to a personal connection to hills and a dislike for beaches.
Fiction is favored for its storytelling quality, regardless of whether it's based on reality.
The author seems to appreciate the tranquility and reflective nature of the night, as indicated by the imagery of the night sky and the sound of crickets.
A tactile preference for physical books over audiobooks is expressed, emphasizing the sensory experience of holding and feeling a book.
Coffee is enjoyed for its aroma and the alertness it brings, despite the author now consuming more tea due to caffeine sensitivity.
Writing is seen as a transformative process, turning ideas and dreams into tangible expressions on paper.
Handwritten text is cherished for its personal touch, viewed as a form of love letter.
The author seems to lean towards a balance of sweetness and sarcasm, enjoying both the warmth of sweet gestures and the wit of sarcastic humor.
Laughter and humor are valued, as suggested by the comparison of chattering monkeys and a gurgling brook to the joy of laughter.
Sunsets hold a special place in the author's heart, described as a warm afterglow signaling the end of the day.
The author acknowledges the enjoyment and fun had in creating the poems and extends an open invitation for others to engage with the challenge in creative ways.

This or That: A Collection of a Dozen Haikus & Senryus

A “This or That” Challenge With a Poetic Twist

Thank you Walter Pop Matthews IV and Lu Skerdoo for tagging me in the “New Year: This or That” challenge. I decided to do something different for this challenge. Instead of writing short (or my usual long, rambling) responses, I wrote haikus and senryus instead.

Just FYI, these are Japanese-styled poems consisting of 3 lines, with the first line having 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables and the third line 5 syllables. Haiku themes are usually nature related while senryu deals with human nature.

Resolutions or No Resolutions?

The night sky lits up, Is it time to make a list? Forgotten by March.

Mountains or Oceans?

One step at a time, Boots, helmet and an ice axe, Clean, fresh mountain air.

Fiction or Nonfiction?

Words in printed form, A good story always wins. Real or otherwise.

Morning or Night?

Endless nothingness, And then the world comes alive — The song of crickets.

Long or Short?

Never ending storm, Flowers lose their bright clothing, Life in a nutshell.

Books or Audio Books?

Between your fingers, Satisfying to the touch. Texture of paper.

Coffee or Tea?

An arousing scent, Causing many sleepless nights. Coffee in a mug.

Reading or Writing?

Ideas, dreams and thoughts, From the mind to the paper, The art of writing.

Handwritten or Typed?

Block script or cursive, Each line is a love letter. Handwritten with love.

Sweet or Sarcastic?

Sugary kisses, Almost as sweet as coffee, Triple espresso.

Funny or Serious?

Chattering monkeys, Gurgling brook over the rocks. The sound of laughter.

Sunrise or Sunset?

A warm afterglow, Before the light leaves the sky — The sun says good night.

Hope that you guys enjoy this series of haikus and senryus. I certainly had lots of fun writing them. In case my answers aren’t clear from the poems, you can see my choice in bold. I chose both for some of the questions

I haven’t done any mountain-climbing nor do I intend to but I can’t swim and I don’t like going to the beach. So I chose mountains as I grew up at a place near a hill; we had a hill view from our balcony. It was pretty cool. Also, I actually prefer the taste of coffee to tea but I drink tea more often now because I don’t handle caffeine very well these days.

I dropped some questions because I want this to be a collection of a dozen poems. Okay, that’s not the complete truth; I can’t think of what to write for the remaining 8 questions. Anyway, I will include links to original posts from Walter Pop Matthews IV and Lu Skerdoo complete with all the questions and the proper way of answering in case anyone wants to do this challenge. Remember to tag me if you do! Of course you can also go rogue like what I did and reply with poetry. Maybe sonnets and twittles? Looking at you, John Hansen, Wire Editor Newman and James Scannell. And to everyone else, feel free to respond to this challenge in any way that you want to and tag me. Have a lovely day, my friends!

Here’s My List of That or This

B.J.’s this or that new year challenge

walterpopmatthewsiv.medium.com

Yet Another CHALLENGE 🤷🏼‍♀️

This time it’s a “This or That for NEW YEARS” challenge

medium.com

P.S. Patrick Greenwood, sending you lots of virtual triple espressos.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support me, please buy me a coffee as the MPP is not available in my country. Thank you very much! https://ko-fi.com/samtzelin

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