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I’ve had this poster for Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” sitting in a tube in the office for weeks now. Since I don’t really have space for it on the wall, and seeing as it’s a bit fresh given the on-going roll-out of the film in theaters, I thought I’d offer it up in a new contest.
“Tone poem” is a term often used to describe Malick’s work, so I thought we’d go with another haiku contest (as always, courtesy of Sasha Stone at Awards Daily who does them often). So offer up your best Malick-themed haiku (5, 7, 5 syllables, remember) and the cream of the crop wins. You can do something built around his work or around the film itself, up to you.
Let’s give this, oh, until the end of the week. So midnight (PT) Friday is the cut-off. Ready, set, GO!
[Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]
70 responses so far
1 6-22-2011 at 1:43 am
Parker said...
Gently, caressing
Bright light of nature and grace
Inspire, enlighten
2 6-22-2011 at 4:49 am
sj said...
sun, trees, water, birds
raptors are the way of grace
grow, jack; grow and live
3 6-22-2011 at 5:10 am
Colin said...
Where has Tyler gone?
“Hit me as hard as you can”:
But said to his sons.
4 6-22-2011 at 5:11 am
JFK said...
Life, hard, beautiful
Swirling, golden ecstasy
Vapors we become
5 6-22-2011 at 5:15 am
Ethan G. said...
Choose nature or grace
It’s always been that way, Jack
Which side are you on?
6 6-22-2011 at 6:24 am
The Z said...
The Badlanda, Texas,
Guadacanal, the New World,
And all that exists throughout
———
How many entries per person?
7 6-22-2011 at 6:24 am
The Z said...
I forgot to revise mine before posting — please remove “throughout” from the last line.
Apologies…
8 6-22-2011 at 6:25 am
Joseph said...
Terrence Malick had
A cameo in Badlands
That is really cool
9 6-22-2011 at 6:30 am
Blake Huggins said...
Grace, nature, in each other
Beauty and chaos reveal
This: all things shining
10 6-22-2011 at 7:38 am
americanrequeim said...
Image in your mind
the words dont tell the story
no journey the same
11 6-22-2011 at 7:38 am
Matt King said...
Many voices speak
In hushed, whispered, feeling tones
Sean Penn is depressed.
12 6-22-2011 at 7:42 am
denny said...
Light shining through trees
Is never more beautiful
Than in Malick’s films
13 6-22-2011 at 8:07 am
Marc R. said...
Malick explores themes
as nuanced as the big bang
With equal effect.
14 6-22-2011 at 8:52 am
Vinci S. said...
dinosaur with heart
offers redemption on screen
Quick! Film birds flying
15 6-22-2011 at 9:04 am
John said...
A visual ode
to existentialism.
The Tree of Life thrives.
16 6-22-2011 at 9:15 am
Andrej said...
From zephyrs running through trees,
to planets transiting the sun,
The scope only grows.
17 6-22-2011 at 9:26 am
Chris said...
Malick is not late
With patience cuts to create
Life from sight and sound
18 6-22-2011 at 9:37 am
Lise said...
Forget the actors
and the thousands of dollars
Look! a butterfly!
19 6-22-2011 at 9:38 am
Lise said...
Malick is no scribe
Plot must never be ascribed
It’s about the vibe
20 6-22-2011 at 9:41 am
Jackson said...
Sissy Spacek’s hair
Trees, wheat fields, and innocence
Blowing in the wind
21 6-22-2011 at 9:44 am
Lise said...
why should we be good
will never be understood
through nature alone
22 6-22-2011 at 9:48 am
Zack said...
Make great-looking film,
Wait a couple decades, then
Make another one.
23 6-22-2011 at 10:24 am
Andrej said...
Whoops. I made a terrible miscount of syllables in my haiku. If it’s possible, I’d like to correct it.
From zephyrs through trees
to the transiting planets,
The scope only grows.
24 6-22-2011 at 10:25 am
Lise said...
Curiosity
and awe–Malick’s lifeline to
otherworldliness
25 6-22-2011 at 10:47 am
mikhael said...
Brad Pitt gardening
Chastain plays with butterfly
So Oscar worthy
26 6-22-2011 at 10:49 am
Xavier said...
Stunning aesthetics
Life, soul, family, love, death
Make a true Malick
27 6-22-2011 at 10:51 am
Lise said...
You can’t get what you
want by being good, you can
only be happy
28 6-22-2011 at 10:52 am
Elazar said...
His pictures of Heaven
Are to me as real as life
Yes the line is thin
—-
And guys, you can use this to test your syllable counts:
http://www.haikuvalidator.com
29 6-22-2011 at 11:11 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Enter as many times as you like, FYI.
30 6-22-2011 at 11:27 am
Lise said...
Elazar, does that haiku validator work or have I completely forgotten what a syllable is? It shows “thousands”, “actors” and “dollars” as having 1 syllable, and “butterfly” as having two!
31 6-22-2011 at 11:46 am
Derek 8-Track said...
She went for Brad Pitt
I went for the dinosaurs
We both fell asleep
32 6-22-2011 at 11:52 am
Fitz said...
Hit me son he said
His eyes plead for change, any
Make me a good Dad
33 6-22-2011 at 12:34 pm
Lise said...
Terrence Malick films
butterflies dancing in light
Hinterland’s Who’s Who
34 6-22-2011 at 12:49 pm
Marc R. said...
light shining through trees
clouds reflected on buildings
simply beautiful
malick started small
now he’s showing dinosaurs
ambitious indeed
another great film
one question it doesn’t ask
will it get oscar
35 6-22-2011 at 1:01 pm
jon said...
I mourn my brother
And the loss of innocence
His death ushered in
36 6-22-2011 at 1:06 pm
jon said...
There’s a bridge between
Past and present, life and death
In my yearning soul
37 6-22-2011 at 1:33 pm
Roy said...
I desire the poster
I have space on a white wall
Tree of Life was great
38 6-22-2011 at 1:39 pm
meep said...
life, love through a lens
more beautiful than what is real
illuminates what I feel
39 6-22-2011 at 1:56 pm
rasshole said...
i can not believe
the cheesy things we will write
to win a poster
40 6-22-2011 at 2:38 pm
Jonny said...
What is going on?
Why are there dinosaurs here?
This is confusing.
41 6-22-2011 at 3:05 pm
Elazar said...
What is a Malick
His words and music divine
And colors that shine
42 6-22-2011 at 3:37 pm
Daniel said...
I see it Friday
I want the fucking poster.
Please choose my haiku
43 6-22-2011 at 3:40 pm
Daniel said...
His latest is here
Ten more years until his next
Probably twenty
44 6-22-2011 at 3:44 pm
Ethan G. said...
Cinema so bold
Haikus go over the top
That’s Malick for ya
45 6-22-2011 at 4:47 pm
THE Diego Ortiz said...
I got a question.
Is this poster a large one?
Or a mini-one?
46 6-22-2011 at 5:23 pm
Joseph Sciortino said...
Ephemeral life
Is watched by the way of grace
Hunted by nature
47 6-22-2011 at 5:28 pm
scastagnoli said...
Wherefrom do we spring?
What will be our destiny?
Mysteries abound
48 6-22-2011 at 6:09 pm
jon said...
There’s another world
I’ve seen it, felt it, known it
With you in the dark
49 6-22-2011 at 6:11 pm
Chris said...
Allow me to vote
For THE Diego Ortiz
Best Haiku by far
50 6-22-2011 at 6:24 pm
Jordan said...
Sparse, dark, forever
A teardrop, the universe
Incapsulated.
51 6-22-2011 at 6:48 pm
Jordan said...
What is cinema?
A shot, some plot, a deft touch,
An experience.
Boos, cheers, a gold palm
Who needs von Trier, anyway?
Malick’s laughing now.
52 6-22-2011 at 8:14 pm
Speaking English said...
Life is sensations
Held within a time’s sliver
Reverberating
53 6-22-2011 at 9:21 pm
John said...
Half the audience
Stood, clapped, and shouted “Hooray!”
Because it ended.
54 6-22-2011 at 9:44 pm
Alluneedis said...
To kill, to harvest
To rape, to found and settle
Microcosmic life
Simply his Nature
This is simply but his Grace
This simple Malick
55 6-22-2011 at 10:59 pm
Vinci S. said...
I have to say too
Diego Ortiz rocked it
Made me laugh hardest
56 6-23-2011 at 12:37 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Full-sized, Ortiz.
57 6-23-2011 at 6:45 am
Mike_M said...
A Mother for grace
While Father is all nature
Which will win in life
Mother vs father
Conflict of nature and grace
Haunted by the fray
58 6-23-2011 at 11:26 am
E said...
Leaves sunlit-dappled,
Gnarled trunk with tangled roots,
Twine life’s mysteries.
59 6-23-2011 at 11:29 am
THE Diego Ortiz said...
Next time Kristopher,
when responding to comments,
do it in haiku.
And I have to say
to both Chris and Vinci S:
Thank you very much!
60 6-23-2011 at 12:16 pm
jon said...
My Kit wields his gun
The same as a magic wand
All problems vanish
Call me Kit, just Kit
Carruthers sounds like druthers
Folks think I’m James Dean
61 6-23-2011 at 12:55 pm
denny said...
Thought of a better one…
Life passing by at
Twenty-four frames per second
While we sit in awe
And another…
Beautiful colors
Half-remembered images
Of things not yet seen
62 6-23-2011 at 5:01 pm
Jackson said...
As the locusts swarm
It’s a surprise to no one
That the farmer cracks
Characters dissolve
In the majestic landscape
Of human nature
Hail the architect
Who forges walls that extend
Immeasurably
63 6-23-2011 at 8:42 pm
O'Brien said...
What the hell is this?
It’s over two hours long!
Where’s the storyline?
64 6-23-2011 at 9:14 pm
Joe7827 said...
Father, I trust you
Though I do not understand
Life is in your hands
65 6-23-2011 at 9:39 pm
wongie said...
A lone man stumbles
Motes of dust we are in flight
Waterfalls tumble
66 6-23-2011 at 10:38 pm
Zac said...
40 year career
5 films 1 every 8 years
all masterpieces
67 6-24-2011 at 7:10 am
Joe7827 said...
The meaning of life
Explored using creation
And evolution
Oh look, pretty trees!
Dinosaurs! Babies! Oh my!
I just don’t get it.
68 6-24-2011 at 3:38 pm
THE Diego Ortiz said...
Haven’t seen the film.
Reason for the “joke” comments.
Just letting you know.
69 6-24-2011 at 7:36 pm
Bryan said...
Facing our nature–
Comprehending the beauty
midst the great expanse
70 6-25-2011 at 9:20 am
Brady said...
To follow nature,
Brad Pitt will make you hit him.
Or, float with Chastain