banyan trees
drop roots to the road,
in search of dirt
Banyan Trees [Haiku]
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Category Archives: Poetry
Stonemason [Haiku]
tap-tap-tapping, the stonemason's chisel; timbre change...[hush]
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Manila Limerick
There was a grumpy man of Manila who didn't care the slightest scintilla. He'd lay on the horn - even on Sunday morn. When the sign failed, the Church hired a guerilla.
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BOOK REVIEW: Basho’s Haiku Journeys by Freeman Ng
Basho’s Haiku Journeys by Freeman NgMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
Out: October 19, 2021
The first thing a prospective reader should be clear about is that these aren’t Basho’s haiku. Basho wrote travelogues in haibun (a spare form of prose typically matched with one or more haiku,) and so one might expect the poems to be from them. On a related note, while all of the poetry is haiku in form, not all of it is haiku in substance. That is to say, it’s all presented in a three-line 5 – 7 – 5 syllable format, but some of it reads like a prose description of events chopped up into 5 – 7 – 5 syllable bit-sized pieces. That’s not to say that there aren’t many poems that do have the feel of true haiku, presenting spare natural imagery juxtaposed but not explained, analyzed, or judgement-laden. It seemed like the further into the book I got, the more of the poems felt like proper haiku.
It is a children’s book, so I don’t think it’s a major concern that it focuses on the most rudimentary elements of haiku (i.e. syllable count and nature imagery) at the expense of subtler elements. The Zen nature of Basho’s haiku might be challenging for a young reader. I addition to the colorful and whimsical artwork, showing prominent places from Basho’s travels, there is a single page explanation of haiku to help get kids writing their own.
If you’re looking for a book to get a child interested in nature, haiku, or travel, you should give this one a look.
View all my reviews
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What’s in a Name? [Kyōka]
i was brave when facing this spider, until I learned that within its name was the word, "Jumping"
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The Immovable [Free Verse]
The Immovable, said to lasso evil & vanquish it with his flaming sword. And I have so many questions... -can one vanquish evil? -what material must a sword blade be made of to fatally wound something so conceptual? -why don't we see more vanquishing these days? [It seems to be an activity that's fallen out of favor.] where can one obtain a conceptual blade to vanquish a conceptual fault? i conclude that it's all made of mind.
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The Taoist [Free Verse]
In the pagoda garden, the philosopher stares into the inky darkness, contemplating its slow flow into the light, reflecting upon the light embedded in all darkness, light that he sees in a glint of moonlight on still waters.
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Across the Valley [Tanka]
the waterfall, thunderous and lofty, is a thin stream from across the valley, and yet i stop & stare
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The Obscure World [Haiku]
on a hilltop, the clouds descending, then the obscure world
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Fungi Mind [Free Verse]
From its perspective, we live in a vacant upside down underworld. It can't understand our terror over death and our obsession with life. Just thinking about it gives it nightmares, heebie-jeebies of being overrun by endless piles of creatures -- endless piles with endless needs. We may wrinkle a nose in disgust at its worldview, but it finds ours positively suffocating. But it forgives us our simple ways, we are just its food, after all.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 