haiku

Wow, its amazing there is only 1 other thread in the spiritual section for the last 30 days - and that was started by me.

I suppose in true zen fasion we do instead of say.

So, I thought maybe we should all donate our favourite haiku to this thread (hopefully we won't impinge on copy rights).

[Edited by ian on November 9, 2000 at 08:13am]

Lightening:
Heron's cry
Stabs the darkness

(Basho)

Thread moved to Chit Chat section.

-- Jun

That's starting to get very profound.

I was introduced to the poetry of Shiki by a friend of mine about a year ago. He is widely considered to have reinvigorated an art form which had grown largely stagnant in the 19th century. Shiki adopted his pen name after developing tuberculosis and coughing up blood. The Shiki was a bird that, according to legend, coughed up blood as it sang. Not only are his works beautiful, many are quite funny.

some beautiful haiku...

I bite a persimmon
the bell tolls
Horyu-ji Temple

at this time
morning glories fix the color
deep blue

some humorous haiku...

A stray cat
excreting
in the winter garden.

My cat Choma
waiting for neighbor's cat Tama
at night.

crows come flying
scatter their dropping
on a man Gonbe, on the head,
a-ha-ha! a-ha-ha! a-ha-ha!

and one of his final...

sponge gourd has bloomed
choked by phlegm
a departed soul

(thanks to Shiki:The Discovery of Haiku) click here for more info: http://shiki.toward.co.jp/~kim/shiki_discovery.html

I was recently leant a book by Gary Snyder. An American poet who travelled around Japan & India for a while and was heavily influenced by zen and haiku:



Down in the bilges
or up out of sight on the bulkheads
time after time
yearafter year
we paint right over the dirt.

The first engineer
he knows.
but what can he say?
the company says
save time.

Nice haiku up there..
One of my favourite Japanse poems is:

Our life in this world -
to what shall I compare it?
It is like a boat
rowing out at break of day,
leaving not a trace behind.
- Sami Mansei, 8th Century

I'd also like to offer up one of my own haiku:

Skeletal Black Tree,
Cloaked in Snow, And Sorrow,
Winter's Sentinel

It seems rather apropriate at the moment (it's cold outside tonight!)

Peace,
David

These were posted on Aikido-L a few months ago:

Printer not ready.
Could be a fatal error.
Have a pen handy?

Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank.

A crash reduces
your expensive computer
to a simple stone.

First snow, then silence.
This thousand dollar screen dies
so beautifully.

With searching comes loss
and the presence of absence:
"My Novel" not found.

Three things are certain:
death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.

A file that big?
It might be very useful,
but now it is gone.

k, that's enough for now .

Cheers from the high school library,

Nick

I've forgotten the standards for haiku. Anyone care to refresh me? Thanks!

BD9398 wrote: I've forgotten the standards for haiku. Anyone care to refresh me? Thanks!

5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables

and usualy about nature..at least traditionaly

Ok, how's this for a first try in 10 years:

Bird perched in a tree
Black crow cawing mournfully
December morning.

Hey, I got up at 4 am this morning OK!!

Bill

Swirling, twirling dance
You enter my space briefly
Goodbye for now friend

Blizzard in Chi-town
Office is closing early
Time for ice fishing

I hate this, cos it's my first post. But aren't some of those waka? 5-7-5-7-7. I know they're not in japanese, but they look like waka. mark johnston