Haiku
Haiku was my favorite poetry to write in middle-school Creative Writing (though I wouldn’t actually claim the name “poetry” for my own productions). I admit it was partly because of its brevity; I also thought it wonderful that so few, measured words could paint an image to evoke a precise mood. I didn’t have time this month to read Kenneth Yasuda’s book on The Japanese Haiku: The Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English. It’s on my reading list now. I did have time to cull from it some interesting thoughts on the Japanese aesthetic, as well as favorite haikus from Yasuda’s selections.
A Butterfly
A falling flower, thought I,
Flitting back to the branch—
Was a butterfly.
Moritake
A Shower
A crimson dragonfly
As it lights, sways together
With a leaf of rye.
Shôcon [Kenneth Yasuda]
Harvest Moon
The autumn moon is bright,
Sea-waves whirl up to my gate,
Crested silvery white.
Bashô
The Mist
I turned back to see,
But the man I passed was veiled
In mist already
Shiki
On the Mountain Trail
From the plum-scented air
Suddenly the sun comes up
On the mountain road.
Bashô
Plum Blossoms
Flowers give but perfume
To the one who breaks the branch
From the plum in bloom.
Chiyo
A Shower
A shower comes and passes
Leaving the bright summer moon
Upon the grasses.
Shôu
Violets
Violets abound
Within the rigid fences
Of prohibited ground!
Yaha
Tuesday, April 17, 2012