"Today we have our third haiku by Issa and as I have told you earlier this month .... Issa looked very closely to nature and respected even the most little creatures such as mosquitos and flies. So for this episode I have an extra challenge for you all. Write/compose, by stepping into Issa's footprints, haiku about the littlest creatures on earth. So you have to write/compose a haiku about bugs. It's not easy I think, but maybe it helps to go outside and grab some earth in your backyard to discover the little creatures living in it."Here are four haiku written by Issa to be used as a guiding inspiration:
sore abu ni sewa wo yakasu na akarimadodon't be mean
to that horsefly
skylight!cha no mizu mo kakehi de kuru nari hotaru kurufrom the tea water's
water pipe also comes...
a fireflytôshi tamae ka hae no gotoki sô hitorilet him pass
like a mosquito, a fly...
solitary priesthae uchite kyô mo kiku nari yama no kanewhile swatting a fly
today again...
the mountain temple bell
© Issa
between lettuce
I spot a mating pair of flies -
no salad today
searching for insects
my grandson scoops up the mud
in the fresh puddle
sultry summer evening
the sound of buzzing insects
deepens the silence
© Chèvrefeuille
Now, my attempt:
§§§§§watch the honey bee
gathering sweet nectar
faithful subjectrain on the skylight
little spider waits
to repair her webthe leaf bends
under its welcome burden
buzzing bumble beeinvisible
tiny green caterpillar
hides beneath the leaf© G. s. k. '14
These are absolutely exquisite, Georgia! Everything from the patient spider to the lumbering bumblebee!
ReplyDeleteSorry I accidentally sent you a caterpillar reference in my last renga -- we on the same wavelength evidently!
You do these insect-ku so beautifully - I'm impressed. Brava!
Thanks Jen ... I love Issa's insect world ... I haven't seen the last reference to the caterpillar yet ... can't wait! And thanks for the compliments too, coming from a master of insect-ku it means a lot, I'm happy you enjoyed them! :-)
DeleteI enjoyed learning about the bees dance that communicates where the honey can be found.
ReplyDeleteI forget if that was in grade or high school.
There are so many more insects than humans... and yet they allow us to rule?
Bees are so interesting ... and hopefully will overcome their present crisis. Perhaps the bees are more interested in living rather than power. Seems that unlike mammals they're just interested in their own particular nests, hives or homes. On the other hand ... roachs left to themselves in a house can really expand pretty much. A thought comes to me: do we really rule?
Deletelovely. (those tiny caterpillars don't stay that way for long!)
ReplyDeleteThey sure don't .... :-)
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