Rick Springfield, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Keller Williams give haiku a whirl

Most people who come to the Foundation’s blog are probably accustomed to well-crafted haiku.  But for my last post in honor of National Haiku Writing Month, I’d like to take a different approach. While I love reading poems by skilled poets,  all should be encouraged to give haiku a whirl.

“Working Class Dog” Rick Springfield – soon to appear again as Dr. Noah Drake on “General Hospital” – takes a shot at haiku.

In fact, in Japan, most people do. So I would like to focus on amateur haiku here, but, with a twist. The amateur poems you are about to read are by rock stars. The following were written by good-natured musicians who were willing to play along and indulge my request that they give haiku writing a shot.

Many remember Rick Springfield from his time in the 80s as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera “General Hospital.” It was a time when you’d also find him sporting a pink suit and feathered hair singing his hit “Jessie’s Girl” from his hit album “Working Class Dog.”

When Springfield had to reschedule a recent New Jersey concert due to illness he sent me the following haiku announcing his rescheduled show.

Was sick as a dog
Rescheduled Show will Rock Out
Music All Night Long

Speaking of 80s hits, surely ZZ Top’s guitar-driven “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Legs” are among the decade’s most memorable tunes. Here is guitarist Billy Gibbons’ fun attempt at haiku.

Fire up that gee-tar…
turn it up to eleven…
and get it dirty…

The last entry is from a current favorite musician of mine. The AllMusic Blog calls Keller Williams a “one-man jam band” whose live shows are “fascinating.” His quirky creativity can be seen in the haiku he sent me.

I like your moonshine
It’s clear like your hair is blond
It makes me feel good

Tagged as: National Haiku Writing Month