triveni spotlight: 3rd June 2026

Mohua
Jun 3
1 min read

triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY hosts: Anju Kishore and Mohua Maulik GUEST EDITOR: Marilyn Ashbaugh

3rd June 2026

triveni spotlight June 2026

Goes out,

comes back—

the love life of a cat.

—Issa (Tr. Robert Hass)

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa. Ecco Press, 1994.

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Feline Aesthetics

Felines hold a rich, nuanced place in many cultures, and that sensibility carries beautifully into haiku. In Japan, cats are often seen less as pets to be controlled and more as independent presences sharing space with humans. This aligns closely with haiku aesthetics: attention to what is, without forcing meaning.

Cats can embody key Japanese aesthetic principles:

Ma: their pauses, stillness, watchfulness
Yūgen: their subtle mystery
Wabi-sabi: the quiet, imperfect, fleeting moment

The great master Kobayashi Issa wrote many cat haiku, often tender, humorous, and compassionate. Several of his cat haiku will be featured this month.

Marilyn Ashbaugh

Thank you, Marilyn, for your endearing topic. We look forward to ‘seeing’ cats with new eyes this month.

Team Triveni Spotlight

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16 Comments

Anju Kishore

6 days ago

Further to Marilyn's request, the poem under discussion has been replaced with another one provided by her. Thank you for your kind input, Alan

Alan Summers

5 days ago

Replying to

A famous one by Issa, thanks!

marilyn ashbaugh

6 days ago

Alan,

AI was no help in tracking down the cat variation, either. 🥹. My only reference is my notes from many years ago.

Alan Summers

6 days ago

Replying to

I've read this haikai verse in many variations over three decades, so it was a complete surprise to see a cat crept in!

Here are all the cat verses by Issa if you search for cat plus an empty space "cat " but no inverted commas and also cats:

https://haikuguy.com/issa/search.php

lakshmi iyer

Jun 06

Are two punctuation marks allowed?? Curious to know though..

marilyn ashbaugh

6 days ago

Replying to

Lakshmi,

Good question! I am not sure when Robert Hass translated this Issa poem. The classic version:

don’t worry, spiders—

I keep house

casually

omits the cat. So I too was surprised by both the cat and the ellipsis in this variation.

joanna ashwell

Jun 03

This makes me smile.

Alan Summers

6 days ago

Replying to

I've never seen a Robert Hass translation like this. Can you photograph your notes maybe?

Alan Summers

Jun 03

I'm curious, how did the cat get in? 🐈🐈‍⬛😼🐾

Alan Summers

6 days ago

Replying to

Can you show the notes? In 30+ years I've not seen a version by Robert Hass or any other translator have a cat included. I wonder if it's a cat verse, maybe a first line of the following verse that got accidently included?