Last night I was up way too late doing some work by candlelight. I paused at one point to watch the candle flame dance and wrote the following.
candlelight flickering
as I write
this haiku
Candles aren't all that common in Japan, at least not as common as in the States. Not sure why. They were common enough to use before electric lights. Probably usually in those paper lanterns you might associate with Japan. But these days I always am greeted with shock from people when I say I sometimes burn them instead of using lights, and they are harder to find in stores here than in the US. Interesting difference in cultures.
I sometimes enjoy doing my work to candle light. It gives a different feel to things and makes it more relaxing when working late. I don't think I'm the only one who things this. I recall that Stephen King confessed to writing one of his recent novels entirely by candlelight (and longhand with a fountain pen).
Although I very much enjoy more traditional haiku which make obscure references to even older Chinese poems or mythology (Bashō did this a lot when he was younger, as did Buson), when I write my own haiku I favor the more observational approach of Shiki and Santōka. And, like Santōka, I rarely count syllables, simply aiming to be short—about a breath.
Now unlike Santōka, I'm usually not drunk when I write my haiku, but y'know... it has been known to happen before.
I'm not sure what season this might suggest. Does candlelight suggest any particular season to you? At any rate, I wrote this, sat in silence for a little bit just watching the candle dance and flicker, then went back to my work.
Unless you have been following me in this haiku adventure over the years, I know these names may be meaningless to you. Let's see if I can sum it up: Bashō is generally considered the greatest haiku poet of all time and is the one everyone all over the world has been trying to emulate since; Buson came about about 100 years later and also tried to emulate Bashō while also bringing a painting sensibility to haiku; Shiki came about about 100 years later and sought to reform haiku more in Buson's painting image than in Bashō's; and Santōka came about about 20 years after that, a drunkard Zen monk, he dismissed syllable count and nature word and wrote very very very short haiku as he wandered back and forth across Japan by foot.
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| David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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