TRUE BLUE HAIKU

[Sue Littleton]

Since my idea of haiku is way far from May Ku and Ku Ku, prefer to present haiku here, as poetry. Hang on to your hats:

THE POLO HAIKU

What is polo? Who cares? but if you DO care:

A polo match lasts about one and one-half hours and is divided into timed periods called chukkers. (Originated in India, the British colonialists adopted it.) There are four players on each team.

• There are six chukkers in a polo match.
• Each chukker is seven minutes long.
• A bell is rung to indicate thirty seconds remain in the chukker.
• A horn sounds to terminate the chukker.
• Breaks between chukkers are three minutes long, with a five minute halftime.
THROW-IN
The ball is rolled in by an official to start the polo match or resume play after a time out. Each team lines up in numerical order, directly behind the other. The opposing team lines up the same way. The umpire rolls the ball between the two teams, and play begins.
GAME CLOCK
The game clock is stopped:
• in case of a foul,
• fallen pony or rider,
• pony or player injured,
• broken tack,
• loss of helmet,
• or if the ball rolls out of bounds.
TIME OUTS
A player may leave the field to change ponies without a time out being called if the pony is not playing well but isn't visibly injured.
A lost or broken mallet does not stop play, and the player may leave the field for a replacement before returning to play, or simply reverse the mallet and strike the ball with the handle.

The best polo ponies in the world are bred in Argentina. Each player has at least seven ponies in his string. A good polo pony (proved by its play) goes for over $100,000. Here in Argentina instead of breeding the best mares, which would take them out of the play for two years, they CLONE them.

POLO HAIKU

1
tails clubbed manes trimmed short
slender legs bound in colors
polo ponies whirl

2
ears pricked hooves flying
their riders mount agile speed
mallets pursue ball

3
dark eyes shine spirit
flared nostrils deep chests suck air
they too play the game

4
seven wild minutes
horse and man meld together
good chukker rest now

5.
playing fifth chukker
first today for favorite mare
she sets pace swiftly

6.
mallet handle bends
player leans forward to strike
ball spins through goalposts

I watch all the matches I can on TV, love the horses, have never gone to a match. Hope you weren't too bored! Sue

[dadio]

Ah, Sue, good to see you & read your lovely haikus

[Sue Littleton]

Thank you, Don Q Dadio! As is obvious, I love to watch the horses gallop over the field, whirl, stop on a dime, never crashing into each other--the players are frequently brothers or cousins, and nearly as handsome as their horses!

[Arcadia]

Hola, Sue! I really don´t care about polo but I enjoyed reading the haikus...! Lovely number three!

[sweetwater]

an early afternoon
walk for the most delicious
chicken noodle soup

in the creation
of vietnamese cuisine
and chili peppers

afterwards coffee
at starbucks the espresso
of an american

the sun shining bright
in the soft wind memories
of you and sand dunes

making shapes in metrics
beneath a tree of olives
as time disappears

as if the soundscape
in the poetry of love
creates the moment

in the becoming
of being and languaging
tomorrow within