Little Creatures - Spider Webs - October 18, 2014

Cedits: Dewy Cobweb

Today's featured writer on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is Richard Wright (1908-1960) a modern haiku-poet. Famous as an early forceful and eloquent spokesmen for black Americans, author of "Native Son," and "Black Boy", he was also, it turns out, a major poet. In the last years of his life he discovered haiku and wrote in the classical 17 syllable form following the Zen precepts of writing about man's relationship to nature.  He wrote over 4000 haiku in the 18 months before his death.  Here are two:

 The webs of spiders
Sticking to my sweaty face
In the dusty woods.

© Richard Wright (1908-1960)

At a funeral,
Strands of filmy spider webs
On coffin flowers

© Richard Wright (1908-1960)

Here are also two examples from Issa and Buson on the same subject:

kumo no su ni tsuki sashikonde yoru no semi

on the moonlit spider web
an evening
cicada

© Issa

Spiders' webs
Are hot things
In the summer grove

© Yosa Buson

dry autumn flowers
 spider-web trap abandoned -
gnat's coffin

sticky spider-webs
in the abandoned house
cloying welcome

the spider's web
around the queen anne's lace
- reflects morning dew

© G.s.k. '14