Death Haiku & Other Life-Affirming Sh*t
All seven daily haiku from Haiku Andy 03.25.24 - 03.31.24
The first death haiku I read, and which still awes me to this day, is Buson’s:
winter warbler
long ago in wang wei’s
hedge also
At the time, I didn’t know that Wang Wei was a poet from the golden era of Chinese poetry during the T’ang Dynasty. I figured Wang Wei was an acquaintance of Buson and the dying poet was remembering a particular visit to his friend.
Never mind that Buson was Japanese and lived about 1,000 years after (and over a 1,000 miles away from) Wang Wei. When I had my d’oh! moment, the poem took on a much greater dimension. Buson was establishing a lineage of sorts, viewing the great Chinese poet as a spiritual and artistic ancestor of sorts, while acknowledging both life and death as great equalizers.
But what is this business about writing death haiku, or a death poem in general? I’m still not sure, and am looking around. In the process, I have come across Carlos Colon’s death poem, written in 2011 and published in Frogpond 33:1, five years before his sudden passing in 2016.
all the poems
I’ve written
melting snow
That’s pretty good.
So when does one write their death haiku? I’m about to turn 62. Carlos wrote his at 58-ish. So I suppose it’s not too soon…
one more look
at the moon
what I’ll miss most
I won’t say it’s final (ahem). But I like it because it’s honest and has the moon.
(Although a serious haiku poet, Carlos created the playful persona of Haiku Elvis. Check out his obit, Haiku Elvis Has Left The Building, to learn more.)
Here are last week’s haiku, and where I mailed them…
haiku 20240325 Bellows Falls, VT USA
morning frost
on my neighbor's roof
probably mine too
haiku 20240326 Union, NJ USA
hiking lytton trail
flushed birds whir away
to another safety
haiku 20240327 New York, NY USA
quick home repair
driving screws
with a butterknife
haiku 20240328 Calgary, Alberta CANADA
shadows on mt. tam
the neverending parade
of sun and cloud
haiku 20240329 Buchanan Dam, TX USA
looking for parking
in the san francisco rain
wipers creak and slosh
haiku 20240330 Wilmington, NC USA
home again
red camellia petals
carpet the walkway
haiku 20240331 San Rafael, CA
easter morning
the patio speckled
with white blossoms
That’s all seven! See you next week! And remember…
I STILL want to send you a card
It’s kinda weird you read my Substack but haven’t requested a card yet. I don’t get it. Please ask! It’s free. I ask nothing in return, aside from your good graces or maybe a cup of coffee if you’re so inclined.
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Recommended reading
I heartily recommend all the books below. I get no commission, zip zero nada, if you buy through my links. (Amazon Associates gave me the boot because I didn’t move enough merch. Oh well.)
Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems, Stephen Addiss/Fumiko Y. Yamamoto/Akira Y. Yamamoto
With the exception of The Haiku Anthology (see below), this was the first haiku anthology I bought when I first started sending out haiku cards. I stumbled across this small, beautiful book, while making my requisite writer’s pilgrimage to Shakespeare’s Books in Paris (ooh la la). The richness and scope between the covers in this little book is simply amazing, featuring over 102 poets, many more if you include anonymous authors. It’s my go-to when packing for a trip. Buy it here.
The Haiku Anthology (Third Edition), Edited by Cor van den Heuvel
Want to know what modern English-language haiku really looks like? What it is capable of? Here is your answer, and a must for every haiku poet’s bookshelf. When I first started writing haiku, this volume served me very well. Many of the haiku within have remained with me throughout the years, and I have been privileged to now count some of the contributors as colleagues and friends. Buy it here.
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku, Natalie Goldberg
Many writers will immediately recognize Goldberg from her forever bestselling Writing Down the Bones. As it happens, she has been writing haiku for her entire adult life, and has much to teach us. In Three Simple Lines, she intertwines memoir, history, and travelogue in a magnificent way as she journeys through Japan, chasing down the ghosts of Bashō and Buson, among others. She also draws much needed attention to women haiku poets, who were too often overshadowed by their male contemporaries. Buy it here.
Mountain Tasting - Haiku and Journals of Santoka … (tr. John Stevens)
I found Santoka challenging at first. Much of his haiku feels incomplete to me or dashed off. But he grew on me. Soon I felt like a companion on his journey, bouncing from inn to inn, begging for alms by day, pounding sake by night. Buy it here.
The Essential Haiku - Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa
Essential is right! Edited by Robert Hass, a great poet in his own right. Hass includes great essays on the history and evolution, as well as other writings by the poets themselves. A true master class in haiku! Buy it here.
Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings, Matsuo Bashō (tr. Sam Hamill)
Haiku poets have a tradition of wandering the countryside, and Bashō set the example! Buy it here.
Selected Poems, Masaoka Shiki (tr. Burton Watson)
I wrote a whole post about Shiki. Haiku might not exist today without his influence and renewal of the form. Buy it here.
Issa's Best: A Translator's Selection of Master Haiku, Issa Kobayashi (tr. David G. Lanoue)
Issa is probably the most beloved of the classic poets. His humility and joy in the face of unbearable loss and poverty endear him to haiku lovers everywhere. Lanoue seems to have made translating Issa his life’s mission, and I love his versions. Buy it here.