Try explaining haiku to someone who never heard of haiku. Yesterday I tried. The dental assistant gave me a blank stare when I quoted Basho’s old pond. A double blank stare when I shared an old one of mine: Garden snake / slipping out of / its knot

Oh, she said, you have to have a great imagination to write haiku!

Just the opposite, I explained. Imagination has nothing to do with it. It’s all about focus and paying attention to what’s there.

Needless to say, I didn’t get very far. Not all seeds take sprout and that’s okay.

Simplicity is one of the hardest things to grasp. Mother Nature is the master of simplicity. She’s the greatest teacher, creating from herself. When imagination enters into the picture, we often skew the moments that are before us, adding something that isn’t really there. Not there’s anything wrong with…