Haiku

One of the more challenging forms of poetry, Haiku is the art of three line poetry. In most cases, the structure is syllabic, with lines of 5-7-5. It is much easier said than done. The Haiku originated in the Japanese literary tradition and may be thousands of years old. The masters of the tradition are Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa.  Basho lived in the second half of the seventeenth century, Buson was mid eighteenth century, and Issa was late eighteenth, early nineteenth century. All three men were born on farms and lived rural childhoods. Additionally, all three were travelers and spent time in the major cities of Edo (now more familiar as Tokyo) and Kyoto. Haikus pay attention to time and space often using a classic theme from the Japanese courts combined with a natural image.
Time for some examples, we will go in order of seniority, so Basho starts us off:

Autumn moonlight -
a worm digs silently
into the chestnut.

               As for the hibiscus
on the roadside------
              my horse ate it.

            Summer grass---
all that's left
            of a warrior's dreams.

Now, don't fall into the trap about the 5-7-5 syllable structure; these are translations, it worked in the original. Translators are stuck with sticking to the exact form versus capturing the essence of the writer's expression and almost always go with the second. Try writing some Haikus in English and then make sure they work out to 5-7-5 when translated into Japanese. You get me? Next up is Buson, an artist, his illustrations are quite well known.

           White blossoms of the pear----
and a woman in moonlight
           reading a letter.

        Straw sandal half sunk
in an old pond
        in the sleety snow.

          He's on the porch
to escape the wife and kids-----
         how hot it is!

You can hear the difference in tone between Basho and Buson. Basho is a seeker, his Haiku are almost meditative. Buson is a painter, and his Haiku are more like word paintings.Issa, the last of the great triumvirate is the Humanist in the group. He uses the form to illustrate the value and beauty of humankind.

      Don't worry spiders,
I keep house
       casually.

     Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
     than cormorants.

    Washing the saucepans----
the moon glows on her hands
     in the shallow river.

One more from Issa that I just love because it's funny:

     Writing shit about new snow
for the rich
       is not art.

Credit to Robert Hass, editor of "The Essential Haiku" for the biographical notes and translations.
If you are reading this, it is my hope that you can get a sense of how universal and how deeply personal these poems are. Americans have, of course, done their best to imitate the form... Jewish writers seem to have done well with the sense of irony required, as this example illustrates.

Four thousand years of Hebrew
and still no word for "tact".
So who needs it?

Next time I think we will visit some of my favorite recurring characters in the mystery/thriller genre.