haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 13th July

haikaiTALKS: season words / seasonal reference | a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree

host: Lev Hart

13th July 2024

haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree

THE SEASONS: Part 6

Your host for haikaiTALKS Lev Hart

Traditionally, haiku has regarded New Year’s Day as its own season, the first in a cycle of five. Susan Furst’s ku evokes the spirit of the season, as it is celebrated in North America:

       new year

       my hand already

       in the cookie jar

       (Susan Furst, HAIKUsutradhar, Jan 03)

In North America, the custom is to make a resolution to improve oneself, starting New Year’s Day. These resolutions are almost never kept, and such appears to be the case here, “my hand already / in the cookie jar.” In the early days of Spring, people swap stories about the progress --- or, more often, the fate --- of their resolutions. The topic is a source of merriment, in keeping with the spirit of the season. Being caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar is, after all, a light offense. The image has karumi, an aesthetic concept associated with light humour, lighthearted feelings, and a light touch in poetic style. Karumi is apt for new year’s resolutions, which are best taken lightly. The cookie jar image also has wabi, an aesthetic concept that seeks beauty in the commonplace. The fragment, “new year’s,” is tinged with the karumi and wabi of the phrase.

A hand in the cookie jar could mean many things, but, juxtaposed with the kigo,  the image suggests transience. (Seasons are all about transience.) This juxtaposition is apt for new year’s resolutions, which are notoriously transient. The juxtaposition of the season and the moment --- the fragment and the phrase --- the kigo and the cookie jar --- has sabi. If you have ever heard the melancholy in George Harrison’s song, “All Things Must Pass,” you understand sabi. In Susan’s haiku, however, lightness prevails. After all --- how melancholic can you feel while eating a cookie? 

Just as Susan evokes the spirit of New Year’s Day, as celebrated in North America, I invite you to compose two verses about New Year’s, as it is celebrated in your homeland. You can choose  kigo from the saijiki below, or you can make up your own:

The 500 Essential Japanese Season Words:

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html#NEW%20YEAR--THE%20HEAVENS

If you have ever felt frustrated by feedback stating that dreams are not a good subject for haiku, you might want to try this traditional kigo: first dream. In Japanese culture, the first dream of the year is regarded as auspicious.

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Thank you for doing this for us, Lev. Members,

Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems too. _()_

This is an exciting phase for haikaiTALKS! Have fun! Keep writing and commenting! _kala