Saturday, March 12, 2011

Haiku (俳句) -- Slapp Happy (Thinking of Japan)









We’re chippin’ at the moon with an old bone.
Issa and his sister chip until the moon is gone.
An endless row of wagons in the snow,
Issa grabs his sister says "c’mon let’s go ‘cause --
Yeah, I think I’ll write a haiku.
Well, you know as well as I do,
You gotta, gotta have a high IQ.
So eat this and have a cup of tea."




Widow lighting lamps at cock crow.
Sengai stamps to help his blood flow.
From his brush figures rush,
In the middle sits a poet
Almost smothered, almost crushed, crying --
"Yeah, I think I'll write a haiku...
Well, you know as well as I do,
You gotta, gotta have a high IQ.
So eat this and have a cup of tea."




(Systole, diastole
Dealing with the parts but
Feeling with the whole.)
Yo!





Han Shan's tears, small worlds.
Resting on their spears, The warlords.
In the wood a drop of blood
Hits an inky pond which ripples as it should...
So why don't you, don't you write a haiku?
Well, you know as well as I do,
All you need is a very high IQ.
So eat this and have a cup of tea.



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