I've been looking at some Hokusai lately--I really dig his paintings and prints--and was struck by some of his birds. This reminded me of Basho's haiku about the crow. It is one of my favorite poems (I've seen various translations with slight differences, I've stuck together those elements I liked best):
On the dead branch
squats a crow
nightfall in autumn
It captures a moment with such elegance and economy, in translation of course. There are lots of other Basho haiku that I love too and which I will probably share in coming days. All of nature is Basho's territory but I think he never fails to capture autumn/winter perfectly. As I did a little research on Basho and Hokusai on the interweb, I looked down at Chloe, sitting between my feet under the table as she often does, and was struck with a little inspiration. When the last word came to me, I knew I had it:
under the table
squats a bulldog.
toofers.
The Basho crow haiku inspired a poem Wallace Stevens wrote called "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird". I like it. It's got 13 short haiku like parts, some of which are very good. The second:
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
and the fifth:
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendos,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
the twelfth:
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be flying.
and the last, which is the most...Bashoesque:
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
I like it! Mind you, I know nothing of poetry. I read it and just sort of wait for something to jump out at me and I don't much worry about whether I really understand it.
