Ten High-Ku

Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

Each of the following mountain-themed “High-Ku” was penned for the High-Ku challenge on Vocal. They all take a slightly different stance on the challenge, from the literal to the metaphorical, within the traditional 5–7–5 structure.

Ten High-Ku

Purple Poetry // AAH!

AAH!

Adrenaline peaks

Am I on top of the world?

Higher than the clouds

Purple Poetry // Acrophobia

Acrophobia

Death looms far below

So high fog obscures the ground

And now I can’t breathe

Purple Poetry // Adaptation

Adaptation

Apex predators

Do not fear the fall; instead

They will learn to fly

Purple Poetry // Immovable

Immovable

Standing firm, the last

I am the immovable

The remnant, the end

Purple Poetry // Inner Diamonds

Inner Diamonds

Within the mountain

Pressure folds carbon into

Crystalline resolve

Purple Poetry // Perspective

Perspective

Is it a molehill

Or a mountain? If you ask

A mole, a mountain.

Purple Poetry // Sisyphean Sequel

Sisyphean Sequel

Should Sisyphus rise

To the peak of Olympus

Zeus is sure to fall

Purple Poetry // Smoke and Stone

Smoke and Stone

Slate-gray smoke surrounds

Stony faces, resting in

The valley’s shadow

Purple Poetry // The Climb

The Climb

Race to the summit

As though you could never fall,

Freeze, fail, or follow.

Purple Poetry // What Lies Below

What Lies Below

Under the veneer

Of calm, boiling anger seethes

Waiting to erupt

If you enjoyed these haikus, you might like my previous Haiku collection or my acrostic hit Sisyphus Rising (the poem which earned my first ever Top Story on Vocal)!