五月来る夜空の空のインク壺 成田千空
gogatsu kuru yozora no kara no inku-tsubo
May comes
an empty ink bottle
in the night sky
Senkuu Narita
from ‘Haidan,’ (‘Haiku Stage’) a monthly haiku magazine, May 2012 Issue, Honami Shoten, Tokyo
When I posted this haiku, I offered the translation below reading the character 空 (sora (sky)). However, reading Kiyoshi’s comment, I realized another way to read the character “kara” (empty) makes more sense here. (Fay Aoyagi 5/2/12)
五月来る夜空の空のインク壺 成田千空
gogatsu kuru yozora no sora no inku-tsubo
May comes
a sky’s ink bottle
in the night sky
Senkuu Narita
from ‘Haidan,’ (‘Haiku Stage’) a monthly haiku magazine, May 2012 Issue, Honami Shoten, Tokyo
I wonder, when this haiku was written, if May didn’t come in on the new moon to give the night sky such a dark ink-like quality???? The new moon … a time for new beginnings???? Questions come. Or perhaps with the coming of spring the night time hours … or dreams…. give the poet the stuff of writing????
Hi, Fay, we may read ‘空’ either ‘sora/zora’ (sky) or ‘kara’ (empty). These are two possible meanings. Besides, successive use of ‘sky’ sounds somewhat redundant. So, I am wondering that ‘空のインク壺’ could be read as ‘empty ink bottle’; this allows an alternative interpretation of the haiku.
Kiyoshi;
You are right!!!! It makes more sense to read ‘kara’ (empty).
When I read this, I thought the poet played with the sound, sora (sky).
Also I thought the night sky would become darker in the summer
(as you know, the summer starts around May 6);
no more hazy sky during the spring time….