冬菊のまとふはおのがひかりのみ 水原秋桜子
fuyu-giku no matou wa onoga hikari nomi
winter chrysanthemum
wearing nothing
but its own light
Shuohshi Mizuhara
from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) , February 2010 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo
Fay’s Note: This haiku by Shuohshi Mizuhara (1892-1981) was written in 1948.
This is gorgeous, Fay… In my white world (with all this snow) it touches upon something you can’t express in words.
Thank you, Merrill Ann. Here, we are enjoying spring-like weather!
Fay, we have eight feet snow drifts all around. No place else to put the snow. Frozen pipes, and all the other winter “joys” of the season. The next storm is Wed. and they expect it to be another big one…. At this point I must take the concept of spring on faith… there are no indications that it want to visit our area yet. So be glad you live in sunny California! 🙂
I understand San Francisco was suppose to get its first snow this past week, the first in about 150 years. I agree with Merrill, this haiku captures something inexpressible.
Hi, Fay and Yousei Hime… We had had a nice warm rain the other night that soon turned to snow again. The constant snow has turned my writing mind to a blank piece of paper…white carries you into white…. (they say when you lose your sight the light is white)… It’s been quite an experience to explore this winter in my writing. At first it was monotanous…but the deeper into nature’s elements brings you to an almost surreal world. It carries you into the inexpressible to a place of new understanding…
Here is to a new understanding that buds with the coming spring.