haikaiTALKS: season words / seasonal reference | a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree
host: Lev Hart
22nd June 2024
haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree
THE SEASONS: Part 3
In previous weeks, we have focused on the relationship between the season and the moment. In Sangita’s haiku, we see a similar relationship, this time expressing the spirit of Autumn:
wet footprints
on the temple floor
fall leaves
(Sangita Kalarickal, Sep 15, 2023)
The phrase could evoke an infinite number of meanings and feelings, depending on the fragment combined with it. In the context of “fall leaves,” the phrase expresses sabi. Soon the leaves will be swept away, whether by the fall wind, or by the cleaner. The footprints will dry. Even the temple will someday disappear. In traditional haiku, the gods themselves do not appear to be above the cycle of seasons. Rather, they are part of it. In Sangita’s verse, Autumn itself appears to be departing, i.e.: “autumn leaves.” The fragment becomes contextualized by the phrase. The leaves might even resemble the footsteps, trails of wet footprints and wet leaves gleaming on the floor, one a tacit metaphor for the other. This week, we see again that seasonal references deepen haiku.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write two haiku, using kigo for Autumn, or for Monsoon. You can choose a kigo from one of the saijiki below, or you can make up your own, as Sangita did. Use the kigo to represent the season and add a phrase that shows us the moment, as Sangita did, to show us something about the essence of Autumn. You can find Monsoon kigo by clicking the second link:
The 500 Essential Japanese Season Words:
indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:
Your host for haikaiTALKS Lev Hart
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Thank you for doing this for us, Lev. Members,
Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems too. _()_
This is an exciting phase for haikaiTALKS! Have fun! Keep writing and commenting! _kala