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hokku to haikai
by Charlie Morganbefore Basho it was hokku
came to Basho as haikai;
his instructions were this.
'the old verse[that is, hokku]
can be about willows,' he said.
Basho then said 'haikai requires
crows picking snails in a rice paddy.'
"lean about pines from the pine,
and about bamboo from bamboo."
"don't follow in the footsteps of
the old poets, seek what they sought!"
06/29/2010 Posted on 06/30/2010
Copyright © 2026 Charlie Morgan
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Linda Fuller on 06/30/10 at 01:07 AM Your poetry has awakened in me an interest in haiku, and I thank you for that... |
| Posted by Maria Terezia Ferencz on 06/30/10 at 08:29 AM The last two will haunt me all day. I love when that happens! |
| Posted by Paul Lastovica on 07/01/10 at 01:04 AM love the second to last couplet |
| Posted by Morgan D Hafele on 07/01/10 at 01:24 AM last 2 couplets are just killer! |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 07/03/10 at 10:27 PM Well, the lesson in that last stanza is one you have learned and practice so well. You are definitely making footsteps for the next generation to gaze upon and... I would imagine... you would tell them: "Don't even TRY to follow in my footsteps, you will fall right through them with your little feet." grins I know I do. My big feet seem so little when I compare them to your footsteps... but I must remember the old saw - comparisons are odious. Besides, you are without compare, Chaz. |
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