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Haiku New Zealand asked me a while back to write up a list of my favorite haiku for their web site, which I agreed to do even though I thought it would be very hard. I was wrong. I won’t say any more about that because I say it over at Haiku New Zealand, so check it out.
So now I’m curious about what other people’s favorite haiku are. Do you have any? Do you think it would be hard to decide on some? What do you think of my choices? What are you having for lunch? Comment below.
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*One of my favorite things about this entire project was having my bland American spelling of “favorite” corrected to make it more New Zealand-y.
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I do have favorites, though I’d be hard-pressed to choose a select few. One of my latest favorites I found on Fay’s wonderful site:
my wife tonight
must be playing
with rabbits on the moon
Inao Ito
I always think of this one first, when thinking of favorites:
this piercing cold I feel
my dead wife’s comb, in our bedroom
under my heel . . . .
(Buson)
Interesting how they are both about a dead wife. Thanks for asking the question. I think I may start a new page on my blog collecting my favorite haiku, old and new.
Oh, yes, those are both wonderful. And the really wonderful thing about Buson’s is that his wife was alive and well when he wrote it. 😉 long live imagination…
I read that just recently, and my appreciation for the poem grew. You’ve got me thinking about favorites now whenever I read something new. “Hmmm. Could this go on my favorite list? Does it have that staying power?” 🙂
I’ve been in transit for about 24 hours (Houston-Amsterdam-Khartoum-Addis). I ate a lot, but I’m not sure which meal was lunch. I had white wine with breakfast, though I’m certain it was supper time for me. Anyway, it was nice to get back home and read your favourites list. A nice selection.
Welcome home, Bob! Glad you liked the list. Would love to see yours.
Great list. Hard to decide which haiku are my “favourites” mate. I suppose the more one reads the more choices there are. And the list grows and grows. I think it’s a great idea to identify poems that resonate with you, as a poet. And to memorize them–thanks, I knew I forgot to make a New Year’s resolution — Note to self: memorize favorite haiku.
Thanks again Melissa. Here’s a few I like:
catfish on a stringer
moves up and down
becoming dusk
-Robert Spiess
picking up a jellyfish . . .
my lifeline
clear and deep
–Dhugal Lindsay
oh, one more:
the felled oak
bending to fit
the earth
–Jane Reichhold
Oh…yes, that one of Dhugal’s is definitely on my shortish list. Those all seem like very you, Peter. Clear and deep.
Oh this is torture—just a few faves…
Robert Hass’s translation of Issa:
The snow is melting
and the village is flooded
with children
Just one from the magnificent collection A Crown of Roses by Sayumi Kamakura:
A child resembling
her father starts to race
toward the sun
And again, trying to choose just one by my friend Peter Newton, from his collection What We Find:
we wait
for the heat to break
milkweed pod
(For one reason, because I always misread that one as “for the heart to break”—which then makes me do a double-take and contemplate how Peter the trickster makes us see something that isn’t there, but is…)
—Jeannie
Oh, yes…all great choices. I do love that one of Issa’s very much, I think everyone does. And yes, just the kind of thing Peter would do…
That’s a great selection, Melissa. I discovered new poems and new authors in your list.
Thanks! Would love to see your list, Jessica.