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triveni spotlight: 25th October 2023

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. _()_

8件のコメント


marilyn ashbaugh
marilyn ashbaugh
2023年10月26日

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.

いいね!
marilyn ashbaugh
marilyn ashbaugh
2023年10月29日
返信先

Keiko,

You are welcome. I appreciate this haiku for many different ways it can be interpreted.

編集済み
いいね!

lakshmi iyer
lakshmi iyer
2023年10月25日

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.

いいね!
Keiko Izawa
Keiko Izawa
2023年10月25日
返信先

Thank you, Lakshmi for the nice comment☺️

いいね!

Keiko Izawa
Keiko Izawa
2023年10月24日

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.

編集済み
いいね!
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