Chuck became interested in Haiku after his stroke in 1983. While in recovery he wasn’t able to keep long poems or speeches in mind. He realized that Haiku was a perfect form for retraining his memory, but could barely write without his dominant right hand. Chuck’s wife bought him what was a high-end computer of that time. He figured out how to write haiku on the computer, accumulating them, and creating several 1/8-page-sized  books for family and friends. 

There is a notion in the martial art (Kendo) that folding 1000 cranes is healing, so Chuck folded 1000 cranes with his left hand. He also decided to write 1000 haiku, which meant he had to write one every day. He composed a haiku each day, often while waiting at a bus stop on his way to therapy or back. 

Chuck developed a strong interest in reading and writing Haiku. He did some publishing in Haiku journals. He realized that Haiku is not a syllable count – 3/7/5… it needs to reflect the language in which it is written. So he retained the three line form, but didn’t rhyme, or worry about length. His intent was to make the poem a sword cut, usually at the end, where a sudden twist makes the poem leap to at least one new understanding. He called his poems Sword-Cut Haiku.