There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry --
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll --
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul --
cormorant heads
drift over the water:
fishing in formation.
muddy clogs
beside each gate;
Spring is here.
"don't swat!"
the fly rubs its hands,
then rubs its feet.
autumn rain,
a small sumo wrestler
pushes through.
sleeping in a row,
the Shinano mountains:
under snow blanket.
In Japanese:
門門の下駄の泥より春立ちぬ
やれ打つな蠅が手を摺り足をする
秋の雨小さき角力通りけり
寝ならぶやしなのの山も夜の雪
From: Wilson, William Scott. 2023. A Beginners Guide to Japanese Haiku. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 224pp.
banyan roots
form cathedral columns
for the inner sanctum.
As a kid, I would definitely say I was more Looney Tunes than Hanna Barbera. I particularly liked “The Road Runner Show” and episodes with Yosemite Sam. Probably because the violence seemed more authentic and characters like Marvin the Martian and Yosemite Sam were salable as murderous psychopaths. I watched Hanna Barbera, but it always seemed like softball by comparison.
Today, I would have to say Rick and Morty.
I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
