Kotatsu ~ Yotsumono

 

 

thoughtless

a field mouse tests the air--

Buddha's chair

 

algorithms quickened

the laptop warms its core

 

o' sweet Valentine

this tweet goes out directly   

from my heart to you

 

a couple's quiet cuddle

under the kotatsu

 

 

 

 

 

Skeletons For Sale ~ Yotsumono

 

 

skeletons for sale--

the seed corn gone

just after Hallow's Eve

egg whites poured on water

torchlight sun-wise round the house

mountain life

is so fast paced

since wi-fi's gotten here

honeybees in the city

searching for a blossom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Withering Winds: a translation

 

 

Withering Winds

Journeying so far in the rain, my hat has split apart at the seams. Nightly my paper coat does battle with the elements.

Having grown familiar with poverty, I try a little self-pity. But there was once an eccentric fellow - a crazy waka Master - who travelled these parts stirring up the countryside. And it occurs to me to simply take my turn:

Basho  

crazy verse, caught in the withering winds alas how I must look like Chikusai —

Basho

狂句こがらしの身は竹斎に似たる哉

who's that - a spray of sasanqua on his hat?

Yasui

たそやとばしるかさの山茶花

at dawn the Water Keeper opening up the liquor store

Kakei

有明の主水に酒屋つくらせて

a red pack-horse tosses dew from her mane

Jugo

か しらの露をふるふあかむま

Korean grass it's slender blades stripped of any scent

Tokoku

朝鮮の細りすすきのにほひなき

as daylight dwindles fields of rice are mown

Shohei

日のちりちりに野に米を苅

this little retreat, here may the heron find a place to rest

Yasui

わがいほは鷺にやどかすあたりに

willing the hair to re-grow such is my lot

Basho

髮はやすまをしのぶ身のほど

all the illusion and heartache she says squeezing dry her breasts

Jugo

いつはりのつらしと乳をしぼりすて

desolate tears shed at a timeless stupa

Kakei

きえぬそとばにすごすごとなく

in the cold of dawn a shadowed figure starts to build a fire

Basho

影法のあかつきさむく火を燒て

sheer penury has made the owner homeless

Tokoku

あるじはひんにたえし虚家

the koman willow in the paddy field soon to drop its leaves

Kakei

田中なるこまんが柳落るころ

tugging a boat through the mist is he lame?

Yasui

霧にふね引人はちんばか

with a sideways glance askance to weigh the dainty moon

Tokoku

たそがれを横にながむる月ほそし

retired from court, now for noisy neighbours

Jugo

となりさかしき町に下り居る

number two nun asked if the blossom at the guards has peaked

Yasui

二の尼に近衛の花のさかりきく

butterflies in weeds she blows through her nose

Basho

蝶はむぐらにとばかり鼻かむ

a conveyance, the gap in its screen allows the glimpse of a face

Jugo

のり物に簾透顔おぼろなる

now - a voice - fire that bitter arrow!

Kakei

いまぞ恨の矢をはなつ声

the outlaw’s commemorative pine broken by the wind

Basho

ぬす人の記念の松の吹おれて

for a time Sogi’s name went with a river

Tokoku

しばし宗祇の名を付し水

removing my hat to get a good soak, cold northern drizzle

Kakei

笠ぬぎて無理にもぬるゝ北時雨

a single endive pushing through the dieback

Yasui

冬がれわけてひとり唐苣

shattered shards of white on white, are these remains not human?

Tokoku

しらじらと砕けしは人の骨か何

cuttlefish bones, a northman's divination

Jugo

烏賊はゑびすの国のうらかた

the riddle of this sadness unresolved, mountain cuckoo

Yasui

あはれさの謎にもとけし郭公

an urn of limpid water in one night!

Basho

秋水一斗もりつくす夜ぞ

Japan's Li Po, his temple quarters, gazing at the moon

Jugo

日東の李白が坊に月を見て

tucked in the lutist's hood a rose of sharon

Kakei

巾に木槿をはさむ琵琶打

remembrance for a long dead ox, grass by evening light

Basho

うしの跡とぶらふ草の夕ぐれに

a small basket of shad borne on her head

Tokoku

箕に鮗の魚をいたゞき

my prayers to the morning star that I might be with child

Kakei

わがいのりあけがたの星孕むべく

little sister's eyebrows officially today!

Yasui

けふはいもとのまゆかきにゆき

silken gauze, the bathing water strained of Shiga blossom

Tokoku

綾ひとへ居湯に志賀の花漉て

a walkway trailed in deep wisteria shade

Jugo

廊下は藤のかげつたふ也

Translation by John E. Carley, with his daughter Edith Carley

    November, 2013 Rossendale, Lancashire, England 

Early Morning Heat

 

 

John Carley conducted this twenty stanza Nijuin renku in 2013. It went on to win the Grand Prize in the Haiku Society of America Bernard Lionel Einbond Competition⁶.

It was quite an achievement in itself, and one might say under the conditions he suffered, absolutely amazing. John, however, was invigorated by the session. With his trademark aplomb, John’s thoughtful leadership and encouraging nature drew on the strongest attributes of each author, combining them to produce a poem of the highest quality. The judges' comments concur:

“ … when the sabaki (lead poet) communicates with clarity and the renju know just what is required, the result can be a polyphonous harmony, in which the very differences in the poets' voices are harnessed to strengthen the unity of the whole. Such is the case here.

It is no exaggeration to call 'Early Morning Heat' a tour de force, and the judges feel no hesitation in awarding the Grand Prize.”

Early Morning Heat

a line of ants in the courgette flower — early morning heat

S

perhaps you’d care to share my parasol?

J

country-western and native songs, a circle round the drum

W

she pastes her happy snaps to a favourite page

C

* * *

seeking, hiding way beyond the curfew shadows and moon

L

in the blackberry basket a taste of river fog

S

the chameleon’s tail curls between red, orange, yellow

C

with a shiver of silk her stocking hits the floor

J

everyone answers to the name of Smith at Honeycomb Hotel

L

the street-sweeper returns a gallic shrug

S

* * *

misunderstood a frog jumps into      whoops the bouillabaisse

L

a smear of something stains my new saijiki

J

snowbound highways lined with deer, the moon in every eye

W

lemmings stream across a frozen lake

C

over and over and over on hold the first four bars of Bach

W

all that Dresden china turned to dust

J

* * *

granddad hides his stash of sticky toffees in the glove box

C

a blackbird tugs a worm out of a hole

L

rising above the dry stone wall waves of white blossom

W

between our dreams of spring a bridge of sand

S

Composed January 18 to February 15, 2013
John Carley, England (sabaki) - J
Lorin Ford, Australia - L
Cynthia Rowe, Australia - C
Sandra Simpson, New Zealand - S
William Sorlien, USA - W 

 

 

 

 

Cisco ~ Yotsumono

  forest verdure -
 from each a separate branch
squirrels natter and nag  

on every certificate
a check mark next to climate change

Nylon and Velcro

trading even up

for canvas and leather

before he passed on
'Cisco was a friend of mine

election year ~ yotsumono

election year -
they take it on the arches
when the bus breaks down

neutrino particles
rushing backwards through time

safe at a distance
petals of apple blossom
carpet the ground 

 

did anyone hear
what happened to Zika?

red ink ~ yotsumono

 

blustery day -
crowds across the commons
mingle and merge


pleasantries punctuated
with a crack of gum


handing back change
her cherry blossom tattoo
fresh with red ink


today's the day
I'll paint my mailbox blue

flu season ~ yotsumono

the man in black
puffs his inhaler -
flu season

never looking up
no one notices the crow

queue at full stop
I steal a glance at
the nape of her neck

gritty snow
in the bus stop's shadow

Earthquake Season ~ New Junicho

earthquake season -
the avocado
rolls this way & that


wave upon wave
a rainbow in curved air


so beautiful
this time of year
the moon over Hiroshima


the bitter aftertaste
of my twig tea


dead roach
buried in the flower pot
hastily snuffed


the doors of perception
rapidly closing


100 billion neurons
tapped deep
to granite secrets


they swap their faces
back again they swap


amid the smell of paint
he coaxes
a small smile from her


blind in the fragrance garden
witch-hazel


flies all swatted,
the lightest touch
on the divining rod


we gasp at the delights
of Tokusatsu


Earthquake Season – A New Junicho
hokku – Sandra [shasei]
wakiku – John [cultural - music]
daisan – Willie [cultural - politics]
#4 – Alan [shasei]
#5 – Bill [shasei]
#6 – Lorin [cultural - literature]
#7 – Lorin [gendai]
#8 – John [gendai]
#9 – Sandra [cultural - art]
#10 – Bill [shasei]
#11 – Willie [cultural - religion]
ageku – Alan [cultural - film]

Composed at Issa's Snail
28th February to 23rd March 2011

John Carley – UK (sabaki)
Bill Dennis – USA
Lorin Ford – AU
Sandra Simpson – NZ
William Sorlien – USA
Alan J. Summers – UK



Earthquake Season: Tomegaki

When a renku sequence is completed in Japan the poem-leader (sabaki) will often write a tomegaki (closing note). This can take the form of a general debrief, addressing a variety of points raised during the course of composition, or it may take a single issue and examine it in some detail. In truth the present notes stretch the concept of 'tomegaki' somewhat as they are written a considerable time after the poem's completion.

What it is, in terms of what it is not

The seasons must be important to renku. Every glib description of a particular type of sequence is couched in terms of how many spring blossoms or autumn moons there are and the order in which they must appear (if in doubt see the notorious Renku Reckoner by a certain Carley J E). As for the many season words themselves: the Big Boy's Book of Kigo can now boast as many as 15000 listings. That's enough to write 813 Kasen without danger of repeating oneself. Or, for those serious about their rules: one must now write 813 Kasen before one is allowed to repeat oneself.

In so far as the New Junicho casually dispenses with such technicalities it is tempting to analyse it in terms of what it is not. As Wilde observed: the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it, but first let's look at the New Junicho in terms of what it does. Definitely.

What it definitely does do

Renku is not poetry-by-numbers. By junking a barrow-load of convention the New Junicho does the invaluable service of pointing out that renku verses might have the correct number of lines, the correct number of camellias, the correct number of happy thoughts, and employ the correct type of seisokuzuke (correct-linkage), yet still be in every way ghastly. Of themselves moons, blossoms and frogs-in-ponds guarantee absolutely nothing whatsoever. Such things may be the prompt or context for good writing. They do not constitute the writing itself.

More of definitely

An interesting feature of the New Junicho is that whilst it dispenses with a host of the more familiar fixed topics, the ones it introduces are not just plucked out of the air. As Ashley Capes remarks elsewhere in this journal, give or take a few silicon chips, the topics in his newly proposed cultural category find their counterparts in the more high-brow medieval linked verse known as ushin renga, which in turn fed into the Basho-school haikai-no-renga. For all that they no longer appear at fixed positions in Basho's Kasen such topics as religion, philosophy, literature, drama, and song are very much present. So much so that in the opening movement – jo – they are effectively barred!

Neither is the idea of gendai (modernistic) verses without precedent. In his recently advanced Rokku the contemporary Japanese poet and critic Haku Asanuma devotes an entire movement to verses which must employ experimental prosody. But perhaps more surprising is the evidence from Basho's own writing which suggests a degree of ambivalence towards strictness of form; some of Kikaku's stanzas in the latter part of The Verse Merchants (Shi Akindo) are so radical that editors duly 'corrected' them, believing them to be the result of transcription errors. Or drunkenness. And in terms of content, so pervasive is the effect of official deification that it is sometimes difficult to understand quite how unusual some of Basho's subjects and treatments were.

The word 'deification' brings us inevitably to miserly Masaoka. Much as one would like to dismiss Shiki out of hand his theory of shasei remains a valuable, if far from unique, examination of how verses centred on lived experience protect a poem from artificiality. Given that the New Junicho dispenses with fixed seasons and seasonal topics perhaps Mr Capes' proposed shasei verses can take up some of the slack in terms of grounding us in the real world.

Which is where we came in. Or rather, where the itch of temptation started. It is a truly radical step to formally dispense with the seasons of said 'real world', so it is inevitable that the New Junicho will be scrutinised in terms of what it may or may not do as a result.

A bit definitely, or perhaps not very

So let's throw together some headers which describe the functions of seasonal reference in renku and see how the New Junicho measures up:

Correctness

Argument: Some people believe that the inclusion of an appropriate season word, at a preordained juncture, is a requirement. It ensures that a verse is correctly composed i.e. that it follows the rules.

Counter: Such people have strange personal habits and should be shunned.

Variety

Argument: Renku is not thematic; it is quintessentially anti-thematic. Central to the genre are notions of totality and oneness-through-variety. The natural world is seen as indivisible from the affairs of man. Verses which express the full range of seasons are therefore guarantors of diversity and extent.

Counter: The topic categories of the New Junicho do not proscribe any form of content. Given that in renku a topical designation is a contextual element only there is no more reason for a New Junicho 'literature' verse to exclude a mention of 'winter' than there is for a Kasen 'winter' verse to avoid also referencing 'literature'.

Reality

Argument: It is important to be real in one's writing. One should depict lived experience. A lack of artificiality is most readily found in relation to the natural world.

Counter: It depends on whose natural world. What it the value of writing about cherry blossoms if you live in the Sahara? For many, lived experience is as likely to be urban. Or virtual. And when was the last time you pounded rice cakes?

Vertical Axis

Argument: Season words and topics have hon'i (poetic essence) – the cluster of values and associations which are conjured up by the mention of a particular bird, agricultural activity, festival etc. These overtones can add layers of resonance to a verse where a direct reference would sink it.

Counter: Films, tunes, books, characters, political events have hon'i too. "Bzzt. Bzzt. One... small… step. Bzzt."

Special Sensitivity

Argument: Something in the national psyche makes the Japanese soul uniquely attuned to the relationship between man and creation. The seasonal almanac, the saijiki, represents a special resource of poetic insight which is lost if we can no longer rely on the seasons as a centrepiece of our poem.

Counter: There's nothing like a bit of racial stereotyping to warm the cockles, eh!

Cohesion and Linkage

Argument: When a group of verses share the same season they follow a logical chronology. Specially in longer forms of renku as a timeframe unfolds it adds an element of cohesion. Even in the shortest forms, like the Junicho Old, where a pair of verses share the same season the automatic association allows other elements in the verse greater scope to tighten or loosen the linkage at will.

Counter: Yes. True. But to link through the season alone is poor writing. What should be a contextual element mustn't be elevated to the foreground. If renku is not thematic, a season cannot be treated as a theme. The New Junicho avoids this pitfall.

Cycles

Argument: The structure of the Kasen makes it plain that fine renku relies more on re-contextualisation than on novelty. We can see this clearly in the loosely cyclical distribution of the seasonal passage. As autumn moon comes round again we don't just duplicate the earlier verse, we use the superficial sameness to show difference.

Counter: Hmmn. Also true. But that's really only crucial in the Kasen, and to a lesser extent in the Triparshva, or a long Rokku. And if you are skilful enough you can achieve the same effect by other forms of subversion of what is initially seen as a repeated element of one sort or another.

Stages

Argument: Highly prominent verses such as autumn moon and spring blossom work in combination with the folio divisions to act as staging posts in a poem's development. So a seasonal reference can evoke the cyclical qualities of the seasons whilst marking the linear evolution of the poem itself.

Counter: True again. But again also only really relevant to longer sequences. Junicho the Older doesn't have folio divisions and doesn't oblige spring blossom or autumn moon either. If that's all the arguments you can muster we're done here.

Conclusion

Nobody ever learnt anything by following a set formula. Art is not created by default.

The New Junicho has merit by dint of innovation alone. But it has more to recommend it. The new method highlights aspects of practice which have been lost or ignored whilst obliging a comprehensive re-evaluation of attitudes to seasonal reference, both as components of a verse, and as elements of the overall structure of a poem.

It may be that the approach Mr Capes has originated will not lend itself as readily to longer sequences. But Earthquake Season was only ever intended to be a twelve verse poem. And the experience of reading it is more important than the meaning of 'New', 'Junicho' or 'Renku'.

Erm, while we're on the subject of making things up – there's no such word as seisokuzuke (correct-linkage). Sorry.

John Edmund Carley (UK)

Degachi

**


Call for hokku (three preferred), any season, in comments

* An introduction to Renku by John Edmund Carley

Yotsumono ~ tassels

red and yellow silks
weave tassels on the corn --
 the crows ply every row



on a rainy Midwest morning,
muted shades of grey



I found inspiration
from the very first page
 of that new best seller



neither merit nor dishonor
in lines of 1's and o's

Little Book of Yotsumonos

Untitled

muted colours
predominately green -
another day of rain



the crow's raised wings
their sheen in this sleet!



* *
* * * (daisan)
* *



* *
* * * (ageku)

Yotsumono ~The Slightest Blush

in names I can't pronounce
their words a reverie --
ripe persimmons

the slightest blush,

from her lips not a sound

a good student,
hating himself,
does what he's told


neutrons in the reactor's core
at critical mass








Little Book of Yotsumonos

Facebook ~ Yotsumono

daytime moon--
figures in crayon scrawled
on every door



2 am it rained; now
the dogs bark at any noise



ever since we left,
that sofa we abandoned
sits there on the curb



logged on to facebook
in a language not my own





;;;;;





.

Hemingway ~ yotsumono

river and moon -
across the swing bridge
rust's silent creep


a masked tagger's
precarious balance


any time
Hemingway clenched his jaw
I'd buy us both a round


  the AutoMaid®️ grins
through smudges on the screen



;;;;;

Letter From Fukushima :: Koyomi

Omote




a glance and a nod
then right out that door
deep spring snow


the moving guys squat
wrestling the quilt box


ebb tide
releases its grip
on our indiscretion


in a jerry built shack
beneath comma shaped clouds


timid steps
on the icy slate, moonlight
through an iron grate


two wet cocktail rings
merge on top the bar




Ura




after we finish
belly laughs
wobble the bed springs


wings of geese beat
auguries into the wind


this new appliance
sends a text
when the colors are done


in haikai spirit
a letter from Fukushima


trumpet vine
and gospel hymns
rise above the sea wall


the bright sting of salt
on still morning air







February 2, 2011, edited

bandit / govindajohn

Noon in the Middle Kingdom (american spoken here)

mm, look at that baby, clean lines, Corinthian leather, and,
(sssnnniiifff) that new weapon smell!

· Reply · 44m

I think the Chinese are trying to bankrupt the US. They prefer that to actual war.

· Reply · 1h

that's part of war - they stopped buying treasuries already - "death to Amerika"

· Reply · 34m

Yes, but I like to mince words.

· Reply · 33m

no, no, no, that ain't me babe - ` made sure to put it in quotes

· Reply · 33m

Yes, but Uncle Confucius wants YOU! Use your head, son.

· Reply · 31m

come on board for the big win... sir?

· Reply · 30m

No, just follow the Middle Way.

· Reply · 30m

observe the squirrel - yes, I think I understand now

· Reply · 29m

Good. Now leave all your aircraft carriers in my bath tub.

· Reply · 28m

what about my ducks?! ... oh

· Reply · 27m

We can use then for firing practice.

· Reply · 27m

get an estimate first

· Reply · 26m

Bashaar plus 20.

· Reply · 26m

from a reliable contractor - betty's list?

· Reply · 26m

Betty crock of what, eh?

· Reply · 25m

a service to find services

· Reply · 25m

but remember - back down the ladder may cost you more

· Reply · 24m

The true searcher for the way enters the rock cliff cave and then contemplates the guano.

· Reply · 23m

I love a good guerro solo

· Reply · 23m

That figures. I'll tell president Xi that one. He'll have a good ho ho ho.

· Reply · 22m

not now it's nappies

· Reply · 22m

everyone's asleep

· Reply · 21m

But it's noon in the Middle Kingdom.


Manage
LikeShow more reactions
· Reply · 20m

... all right, come at me then ...

Three Day Moon


still a few stalks
by the windbreak in the snow --
three day moon

the dog makes a beeline
for the fox's spoor

in the villager's panic
torches and pitchforks
passed all around

she posts a view of blossoms
one last time


Bandit, Rice


Degachi format for Yotsumono; Submissions are closed.

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Yotsumono ~ Hot Again; November

` Hot Again




a lone gull gliding
catches up to its cries --
Lake Mallalieu


kinetic theory
its rippling arc bending


pomade, coffee, talcum,
clean shirt, too -
the Fat Man's stick is hot again


a note, but no name,
and roses, just shy a dozen











` November



November --
countless raindrops to measure
the length of a day


a veil of frost
tints Johari's window


ranks of children
prone and obedient
to a flickering image


Lebensraum -
a none too distant dream



` ` ;;;;;


;;;;;