Firefly Haiku

An older haiku that fits this time of year exactly. On these "white nights" of midsummer, I often see critters while walking at dusk through Hoosier Acres.


just the deer and I
amid the gathering
fireflies


Here's something else I learned reading about haiku. Bashō, the early haiku master, said, “In writing do not let a hair’s breadth separate yourself from the subject. Speak from your mind directly; go to it without wandering thoughts.”

Ah, wandering thoughts. How do we achieve that in this century of distractions, electronic and otherwise? Not only did Bashō believe that one should perceive the object with one's full attention, but he also felt that this “seeing” and the expression of it into words should be one action and one action only. That way the reader can experience the “inner” object of the haiku in the same way that the writer did. I know that sounds impossible to accomplish but it's a goal to reach for.

Learn from the Pine Tree

Bashō, considered to be one of the masters of this form, was influenced by the Chinese poets of the T’ang Dynasty (7th to 9th centuries) especially Tu Fu, Li Po, and Po chü-i. He believed that haiku came from a deep observation of nature. What Bashō advised his followers to “Learn of the pine from the pine; learn of the bamboo from the bamboo.”

images by photoeverywhere.co.uk

only July
hedge leaves yellowing--
smell of skunk