Haiku of the Day Theme for June 2025: Mother Tongue
Our guest editor for this month is THF Founder Jim Kacian.
Jim writes:
“My initial interest for this gallery was “mother tongue” or “cradle tongue”, that first language whispered in secret rapport to us as babies by the entire world we then know. And there have been many poets who have written to this exact topic, but not so many as to complete a gallery, so I expanded the topic to include other related language matters, such as “dialect”. It’s useful to remember, as James Kirkup, first president of the British Haiku Society, reminds us: “All languages are but dialects of silence.” (Dengonban Messages, 1981). Perhaps these conjurations of those earliest moments will help you to recollect your own first language, perhaps even to write of it. Even if you do, its first truth will, must, remain a secret.
Thanks as always to Charles Trumbull not only for access to his magnificent DataBase, but for his unflagging commitment to keeping it alive.”
The Haiku of the Day feature displays a new haiku each day at the top of our home page. See also our Haiku of the Day Archive.
Comments (6)
Comments are closed.
grandma’s lullaby
on migrant mum’s phone
kid relaxing
knowing what I mean
with a finger flex
cradle circle
she’s looking for
a belt or the broom –
mother’s language
before she gets it —
his Kajkavian “moram scat!”
a wet little bed
* In the children’s ward of the hospital, a newly arrived nurse from Dalmatia didn’t understand a toddler from the north, where Kajkavian — one of the three main Croatian dialects — is spoken. These dialects often overlap and blend in the city of Zagreb, and even within the standard Croatian language.
cockney slang
the parakeets too
attempt the lingo
Enjoyable read. Fresh like the accent. Love the parakeet twist.