Melancholetta

Haiku Experiments

Hello,

Well. Life and Death, Slow and Fast dissected through different eyes. Does anyone here enjoy Haiku?

I am not very good at this. But, I read that a Haiku poem is composed of 17 syllables, 5 in the first line, 7 in the second and 5 again in the last. I don't know how to appreciate such poems. But, I am pretty intrigued. Nevertheless, here is a small collection. If anybody can understand anything more than what is obvious, please share it with us.

The following is by Buson, a 17th century Samurai, considered by many to be the greatest among all Haiku poets. I am including only a few that somehow appealed to me. There are lots more on the web by this fellow.

The Haikus of Buson

1. That handsaw marks time
with the sound of poverty
late on a winter night

2. In seasonal rain
along a nameless river
fear too has no name

3. Clinging to the bell
he dozes so peacefully,
this new butterfly

4. Head pillowed on arm,
such affection for myself!
and this smoky moon

5. This cold winter night,
that old wooden-head buddha
would make a nice fire

6. With the noon conch blown
those old rice-planting songs
are suddenly gone

7. Walking on dishes
the rat's feet make the music
of shivering cold

8. Nobly, the great priest
deposits his daily stool /* Excuse me ????!! - Stangenlord */
in bleak winter fields

9. In a bitter wind
a solitary monk bends /* This is beautiful - Stangenlord*/
to words cut in stone

10.At a roadside shrine,
before the stony buddha
a firefly burns

11. With no underrobes,
bare butt suddenly exposed
a gust of spring wind

12. Priestly poverty
he carves a wooden buddha
through a long cold night

13. With a woman friend,
bowing at the Great Palace
a pale , hazy moon

14. Whore and monk, we sleep
under one roof together,
moon in a field of clover

Quite intrigued,
Stangenlord

posted by Dileepan @ 7:04 PM