Tuesday Poem: Haiku “spring rain” by Kobayashi Issa
spring rain
a rat laps
the Sumida river
Kobayashi Issa 1763-1827
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Last week Jeffrey Paparoa Holman posted another haiku by Issa, one of the great Japanese haijin, while Janis Freegard shared a poem by Japanese poet, Taigyu Ryokan: “You Do Not Need Many Things.” They put me in the mode for more haiku and this one, by Issa, is one of my favorites. For me, it epitomises the juxtaposition of images that “cut” each other and (and in so doing create something greater), that is the essence of haiku.
As with all the best haiku, it can also be read equally well in reverse order:
the Sumida river
a rat laps
spring rain
But read either way, I love the simplicity and power of the image: the freshness of the rain juxtaposed with the rat, which is vermin—and yet the rat, too, laps the river/spring rain: it is part of the whole, with no judgement as to merit.
Love the reversal of this haiku, Helen! The line ‘a rat laps’ really intrigues me. Stunning little gem! Thanks for posting.
nice – very nice – very nice indeed
Clever, yes. I love the reversal, too – the rat laps the spring rain; the rat laps the river Sumida. . . either way, water at the end of its tongue. Thanks, Helen.
I thought you might enjoy a post I wrote about the haiku of Issa for Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201104/issa-my-life-through-the-pen-haiku-master
Thank you, Toni.