When I was a young poet in my twenties, it was difficult for me to explain to my parents what a haiku was since I wast just discovering it myself.
Fortunately, a teacher knew what haiku was. After he commented that the short poems I was writing were like haiku, he ordered a haiku book, loaned it to me, and that was the start of my haiku adventure.
When and how did you discover haiku?
don’t carry off
my haiku collection!
deer at my hut
–haiku by Kobayashi Issa (English translation by David G. Lanoue), illustrated with a cartoon by Jessica Tremblay (Old Pond Comics)
* * *
Day 1 of the NaHaiWriMo challenge. The goal of the National Haiku Writing Month is to write one haiku a day. I decided to let Issa do the writing, and I’ll create one haiku-comic a day in February.
Michael Dylan Welch, the creator of the event, is providing inspiration with his daily prompt. The February 1 writing prompt was: “ HAIKU (write a serious haiku ABOUT haiku, which is hard to do well)”
I logged in to the Kobayashi Issa haiku database by David G. Lanoue on the HaikuGuy.com/issa website, typed “haiku” and found 11 haiku with the word “haiku” written by Issa.
I think I’ll make it my goal this month to illustrate lesser-known haiku by Kobayashi Issa (if the prompts allow it).
Enjoy!
awaiting the stars–
even a turtle cools
his behind
even the cloudbursts
hate it…
rice field by my gate
-– A haiku by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue, illustrated by Old Pond Comics
the traveling geese
check it out thoroughly..
sooty mat
— #Haiku by Kobayashi Issa, Tr. David G. Lanoue, ill. Old Pond Comics
gradually the geese
pass on…
rice field moon
— Haiku by Kobayashi Issa, Tr. David G. Lanoue, ill. Old Pond Comics
NaHaiWriMo #5: letter z
spring at my gate–
the first New Year’s greeting
from sparrows
– Haiku by Kobayashi Issa, Tr. David G. Lanoue, ill. Old Pond Comics
The Butterfly zine is available on my webstore.
Move aside
butterflies and birds!
lotuses are blooming
— Haiku by Kobayashi Issa, Tr. David G. Lanoue, ill. Old Pond Comics
