triveni spotlight: 25th October 2023
- Vidya Shankar
- Oct 25, 2023
- 1 min read
triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY! hosts: Kala Ramesh and Vidya Shankar GUEST EDITOR: Keiko Izawa 25th October 2023
keshi hiraku kami no saki made sabishiki toki
poppies bloom
when I’m lonely
up to my hair tips
Takako Hashimoto (1899 – 1963)
from Saishin Haiku Saijuiki by Bungei Shunjū
poppy: early summer kigo in Japanese saijiki
During this month, I’d like to introduce contemporary Japanese haiku, including kigo, which are referred to as “yūki haiku(有季俳句)”. In yūki haiku, toriawase (matching kigo and the remaining phrases) is the key point, not to mention its creativity and originality. In my view, Japanese haiku are generally simple compared to English (language) haiku, but the subtle sensibility is embedded within as the synergies with the power of kigo. I hope you enjoy karumi (lightness) blended with seasonality in these haiku.
Keiko Izawa
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Thank you for being our next guest editor Keiko Izawa You are bringing something fresh and this is going to be a treat for all our members. _()_
poppies bloom
when I’m lonely
up to my hair tips
Perhaps because I am reading this haiku during a war, there are deep layers to the poem. Poppies in American culture are associated with lost soldiers of war. L3 conveys an all-consuming loneliness, including the hair tips, that not even a blooming poppy can touch.
I feel that L 1 is a pure image and then the phrase follows to support L 1 that 'when I am alone/ up to my hair tips'; is what the poet feels so. The poet finds a company amidst poppies blooms which helps her from being lonely. Very light and calm.
Most people feel happy when they see a blooming flower. The poet, however, feels lonely. This feeling may have arisen as a result of seeing happy people around her as if a blooming flower, and contrasting it with her own circumstances…or not. I see a subtle beauty in this contrast. The kigo "poppy" is effectively used in this poem.