In response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #26 Revise that Haiku
Taneda Santoka, known for ‘free verse haiku’, was part of an early-twentieth century trend in Japan that explored free-form haiku composed without traditions such as the 5-7-5 syllabic rule and the seasonal word. In his later years Santoka became a Zen Priest wandering many miles, often begging to survive. Santoka may have written this haiku on one his walking trips:
nonchalantly pissing
off the side of the road
soaking the young weeds
© Taneda Santoka (1882-1940)
I imagined a wandering nun. Her alternative haiku might be:
crouching
in bushes by the road
watering the crabgrass
©️2018 Ontheland
the summer moon
there are a lot of paper lanterns
on the street
© Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)
Imagining the Hiroshima commemorative lantern event years after Shiki’s time, I have written a new version of his haiku:
path of lantern lights
memories of lost souls
under August moon
©️2018 Ontheland
Ontheland 