The Haiku Foundation Forums

hahaha.. .thanks Gabi.  I say it the way you have written it and couldn't figure how to translate it in such a way an English speaking person could copy.  You have it.  At first I was going to use Gin... like gin and tonic, the drink.  That would have worked.  

"Pin" is perfect.  Thanks for weighing in.  Much appreciated.

Don

8)

ps... I've adjusted my post as a result of your help!  Thanks.

haijin   pronounced:  "high - jin"  While there are only two syllables in English, it appears to me that there are four in the Japanese language:  ha-i-ji-n (as I see it).  

This is a special term for a person who writes haiku - a haiku poet.  But, there seems to also be an indication that it isn't simply referencing just any haiku poet - it is referencing a very advanced one, a master, so to speak.



ps... I modified this post to reflect Gabi's advice.  I was trying to figure how to spell it and had high-jean (LOL) but JIN does reflect the sound much better.  Thanks again Gabi!!!

Great!  Thanks!!!  I post it with the rest!

Don

Hi Col,

Knowing or having a sense of something spiritual is the impetus for me to appreciate the personal moments that cause me to write haiku.  Even when I look at something so grand as a perfect blue sky, I sense the spiritual beyond, in and around.  There's a sense of eternity in all things - large or small - outside/inside.  There's a resonance of connection in both.  I love that connection and, in particular, I bask in the endless feeling of it.

rugged cross ...
a child's voice
cries out

I'm a taoist christian (a philosophy mixed with religion).

in a tomb ...
the mystery
of being

Interesting thread.  Thanks Col for thinking of presenting this one.  

Don



(revised to correct an "article error")

Fabulous thread.  Thanks so much for sharing these.  Perfect!

Quote from: Peter Yovu on March 06, 2011, 07:05:15 AM
The reader (at least this reader) as co-creator of the poem, offers this subscript:

the cat's cradle
and the Eiffel Tower  
become snowflakes

Experience begins in the body (as does language)-- it is a continual surprise to me how seldom we relate to these poems as bodily experience, as here, perhaps, feeling the cold steel of the E T as a skeleton-- our own skeleton, into winter. Or to be more accurate, how seldom we express the bodily experience, what happens, on that level, when we read the poem. For me, it is the entry point and the place of communion.

Edit: last two sentences added.

Excellent toughts, Peter.  Thanks.  The bodily experience is an interesting perspective in relation to this poem of which I'll put some time in pondering.  I enjoyed your post.

Don

Quote from: Mary Stevens on March 05, 2011, 05:07:23 PM

The season in the poem, for me, creates a kind of reverberation between the confined indoor space and  small activity and the magnificent structure out in open space in bracing cold air—but with the snow closing in. I alternately feel free and claustrophobic. (It doesn't help that it's early March and I live in New York state!).

This is an excellent point, Mary!  You've nailed an important aspect to the poem right on the head!  Good eye!

Don

Hi David,

"Suitcase" posted in Share Haiku ... :)   But, no one has ventured a poem yet.  This may prove interesting ... on its own!

thanks,

Don

Great link.  Thanks!

Don

David,

Your choices are right on the money.  The Ross poem really is tight and prefect for the finish!  Now, I'm thinking of adding "suitcases" to another thread.  They are writing about clouds, crows etc. and why not a suitcase?   8)  Now ... that ought to be interesting.

best,

Don

ps... I have never kept a suitcase haiku either!

ahhh... yes, that's a good one, Alan!  :)

While I would like to ponder these a bit more, I want you to know how much I enjoyed them and, by the way, the sequence in which you placed them.  That's what struck me the most initially - the order that you chose to present them.  I like it and the presentation works for me as a whole and as poems individually.

Thanks for sharing these.  I'll be back to enjoy the ensuing conversations. 

best,

Don

the cat's cradle
the Eiffel Tower too
into winter
         —Akito Arima

Winter as the kigo, in any language, is of utmost importance, in this case.  The "cat's cradle" implies the long hours of nothing to do but wrap string around fingers and learn new moves.  The kids are indoors ... not a lot to do (at least when I was a kid ) and in hunting for something to do, the strings came out.  In Spring, kids were out playing ... getting free from the indoor blues.  Their energy was high and different than in Winter.  Not all locations are the same however ie:  Bahamas (is there a winter?) :) ... but for those in a rough winter area, L3 will ring much louder as Winter than any other time of the year.  When I was in Wyoming, as a kid, we literally could not go outside for days and longer.  It was horrible weather.  My brother and I would end up nagging at each other or playing games! Strings was one of them ... even for boys!

While the word "winter" alone might not surface all of the aspects the Japanese poets would reflect on, it does, especially combined with L1/2, absolutely reach deep into the memories and feelings of folks who were of the generation that played strings instead of video games.  

For me, winter combined with the other factors in this poem, will resonate wonderfully in any language.  

Three operative words (or sets of) in this poem:  cat's cradle (game and shape);  Eiffel Tower (and the implication of its shapes, location and weather);  and winter.  Combined, they resonate together in a vibrant and effective way ... in English.  I don't speak Japanese, so I'm not sure what else someone of their culture would receive from this haiku. It does seem that the poet was reminded of all of this when he was visiting the Eiffel Tower or possibly after seeing a picture of it etc.  Something sent his mind into the journey of the game.

This reminds me of an old comment I made off the cuff when describing the activity of the fragment and phrase:  when you wave one hand in the air, not much sound;  when you wave the other, not much sound;  when you wave them both and bang in the middle, the sound of a clap! The fragment and phrase here inspire many thoughts and memories for me - the clap! ... a third aspect created by the two being combined.  

Thanks for sharing, Jim.

Don

haiku:   (pronounced something like:  "high-koo" in English and more like "ha - e - koo" in Japanese - vowel e such as in "eat")

Whiile haiku is strongly debated as to what it is as a function in the English language, it is more clear as to what the word itself means.

Haiku has three sound syllables in Japanese.  In English, it has just two syllables.  My understanding is that it means (without going into too much detail) "light verse".  It is a coined word, by Shiki, from haikai and hokku - the terms Basho would have been using during his life and the terms being used 400 years ahead of his time.  Hai would equate to "light" while "ku" would define as "verse". 

Re Alan's post:

That would be a great idea.  It really doesn't cost anything to set up Pay Pal... and, so much easier it would be.

best,

Don