haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 16th May 2026

haikaiTALKS: narrowing focus|a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

A Disclaimer

Responsibility for the originality of the haikai rests solely with the submitting poet. 

If anyone feels that it is similar to another haikai, they are encouraged to contact the relevant poet directly.

Triveni Haikai India will take any action as recommended by the submitting poet.

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haikaiTALKS 

Guest poet: Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

16th May 2026

Zoom in, the technique of narrowing focus

Haiku is an imagistic poetry, just like cinema. Both present the images objectively. Because of this similarity, one can readily find in haiku, fairly precise analogies for several cinematic techniques. Even though haiku existed long before cinema, the language of cinema gives us a fresh and revealing way to what happens in a haiku. One such technique is zoom in, where a camera lens is adjusted from a wide angle to a narrow angle.  

Buson, being an artist, used the narrowing focus technique very often in his haiku. What we do in the zoom in technique is start with a wide angle in the first line, narrow in as we move further into the second and third lines until we get a close-up image.

To write a successful zoom in haiku, keep in mind the following:

Visual Focus: The technique is highly visual and often used to show the "Divine in the Common," finding profound meaning in a simple, precise detail.

Contrasts: Use this technique to create drama by pairing a vast setting with a tiny object

Movement: Think of the camera lens moving from a drone shot down to a macro shot.

Examples

the sun is in the west

the moon is in the east

canola blossom

            Buson

old village

not a house without

a persimmon tree

           Basho

the whole sky

in a field of flowers

one tulip

         Jane Reichhold

a short night ending

close to the water’s edge

a jelly fish

         Buson

google earth

i zoom in on

my childhood

       Mark Dailey

a still, starry night—

      train tracks

            wet with dew

                 Michael Dylan Welch

Prompt:

Go on a ginko, use your cinematic view, narrow down the focus to a close-up image, and record the same in the form of a haiku.

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KIGO WORDS

Shall we please try to include a kigo word in all the poems we share here?

Give the season and the word — under your poem. 

For seasonal references, please check these lists:

“A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods,” by Jane Reichhold:

https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/7fb6654a1dfd1afef97369da920530f8.pdf

indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:

https://www.trivenihaikai.in/indian-saijiki

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html

The World Kigo Database:

https://wkdkigodatabase03.blogspot.com/

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List:

https://yths.org/season-word-list/

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Dear poets,

Please provide your feedback on others' commentary and poems as well.

We are continuing haikaiTALKS in full swing!

Keep writing and commenting! _kala