About

An ode to true love.  To great love.  To deep love.  To complex love.  To journeying with someone (and oneself, and Life) over time (and space).  To the learning.  To the bittersweet growth.  To the human and soul-level beauty, grief, grace, liberation, and gratitude through it all.

This project was born from the organic unfolding of processing and healing after a significant relationship ending.  A first haiku was written spontaneously . . . then another . . . then another . . . each conveying a particular snapshot of an emotion, thought, sensation, image, impression, question, etc., where the 5-7-5 syllabic form gave both a supportive containment to the particular experience being felt/processed, as well as a fun, creative challenge (which, especially amidst difficult emotions, brought some welcomed levity/space).  As months went on, the haiku came in waves, sometimes many in a short time, sometimes with long gaps of time in between writing.  Eventually, they totaled over 220, and as certain themes emerged and repeated, the idea was sparked to name those themes and organize the haiku into a coherent project, reflecting a broad range of human experience.

While nearly 50 themes were identified, they were narrowed down to 28, with a minimum of 5 haiku per theme.  Electing for a maximum of 8 haiku per theme (for a cap both visually and absorption-wise), the total number of haiku in the finalized project lands at 180.  Additionally, as a lifelong lover of photography, I sifted through decades of my own photographs (the majority taken on a Fujifilm X100S, with a select few from an old HP PhotoSmart R707 and Canon EOS Rebel XSi) to connect images to the given themes.  Finally, as a total rookie to web design, I dug in to learn Webflow and create this site from scratch.  Although the end design is rather minimalistic, I was amazed to learn just how many micro-decisions and -adjustments go into such a creation.

As the tagline on the project homepage states, this birthing was created first and foremost "for the heart, before the art."  While select haiku carry an artistic potency, many are not stylistically impressive; rather, they were created to formulate and express a particular sentiment/experience, while adhering to a basic 5-7-5 syllabic structure (refraining from traditional haiku stylistic guidelines).  My hope is that by sharing this with the world, perhaps some others may find some solace, resonance, and/or validation in their own relatable experiences.  I also encourage anyone who may be so called, or curious, to try writing a haiku . . . and maybe another . . . and maybe another . . . and see how it may support your healing. ♡

As I have said for many years, "life is wild and beautiful."  Cheers to the journey . . .  Take good care out there.

- Lana Liinve