In another thread I discussed the Haiku experience. Haiku is much more than a cutesy 3 line poem. True Haiku evokes emotion and shows enlightenment, a realization and/or connection.

One of the better Haiku poems I have ever read is by Buson who lived from 1715 to 1783. Tell me what you experience from this seemingly simple short poem.

In the bedroom, stepping
on my dead wife’s comb:
the sudden cold.

I read this poem several years ago and have never forgotten it.

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Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !

I too love the haiku you posted, Lightkeeper. As my undergraduate degree is in Literature and Rhetoric, I was exposed to haiku a little way back then and have loved to read it and hear it spoken ever since.

As I understand it, haiku is typically three lines made up of exactly 17 syllables. It traditionally is made up of two seemingly disconnected elements. One element establishes a time and place, the other a dramatic, or vivid observation of some specific occurance.

The entire haiku by Yosa Buson (1716-1783) is:

mi ni shimu ya [it sinks in deep]
naki tsuma no kushi o [in the bedroom, I step on]
neya ni fumu [my dead wife's comb]

The time and place is established as the Fall season through the phrase "mi ni shimu ya" (it sinks in deep). This is a common haiku seasonal reference (i.e., an autumn kigo (season word)) found in the haiku saijiki (i.e., season word dictionary). The phrase draws an inference meaning something akin to a biting 'cold to the bone' Fall wind. The following poem was one of the the first known uses of the Japanese verse in the 11th century, and one commonly known in the genre:

kaze no ne no [the sound of the wind]
mi ni shimu bakari [sinks in deep]
kikoyuru wa [just from hearing this]
waga mi ni aki ya [it comes to me]
chikaku naruran [autumn is surely near]

~ Anonymous

So, this reference makes the phrase even that more dramatic with the understanding of the context. 'Sinks in deep' gives you an even greater systemic shock when you read the phrase. One can feel the chill run up the spine (as Withdrawnmist points out!).

I hope the little I know about haiku has helped others enjoy this one even more. It's striking enough to read it without knowing anything about haiku, but once you study it a little, its effect is even more striking.

Thanks so much for starting this literary thread. I have no talent in this area at all, but perhaps our resident poets could take a crack at crafting some for us all to enjoy! --Steve--





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That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 255)

WOW !!..I am going to look into the world of haiku...It might help me relax and it sounds fascinating..

Perhaps this is a reasonable time to bring back this thread

Community Haiku

I am sure we could do with some new ones !

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Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !