OULIPOST#17: The sun did not know

Every day this April, nearly 80 poets will write one poem per day by applying constrained writing techniques sourced from the Oulipo (Ouvroir de littérature potentielle — or “workshop of potential literature”) group to text sourced from their daily local newspaper. This is the seventeenth of thirty prompts in the Oulipost project.

The three haiku below are in response to this prompt:

OULIPOST #17: HAIKUISATION
The haiku is a Japanese poetic form whose most obvious feature is the division of its 17 syllables into lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. Haikuisation has sometimes been used by Oulipians to indicate the reduction of verses of normal length to lines of haiku-like brevity. Select three sentences from a single newspaper article and “haiku” them.

The sun did not know
it was sun-kissed in summer
snow-capped in winter

The sun did not know
its splendid serenity 
on sun-glazed harbour

The sun did not know
how beautiful its light was
until it was off.

REFERENCES

Wanjiku, Evelyn. "Top 10: The world's most beautiful buildings are inspired by culture." The Daily Nation. 17 Apr. 2014: DN2 6 and 7.

"The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building," once said American architect, Louis Khan.

(About the Japanese Kinkaku-ji, translated 'Golden Pavillion') Whether snow-capped in winter or sun-kissed in summer, nothing compares to the magnificent spleandour of the Kinkaku-ji as it reflects on the 'mirror pond' it stands on.

(About the Sydney Opera House) Its white sail-like segments sit with splendid serenity, arching gracefully on the sun-glazed harbour...