In response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #26 Revise that Haiku

Taneda Santoka, known for ‘free verse haiku’, was part of an early-twentieth century trend in Japan that explored free-form haiku composed without traditions such as the 5-7-5 syllabic rule and the seasonal word. In his later years Santoka became a Zen Priest wandering many miles, often begging to survive. Santoka may have written this haiku on one his walking trips:

nonchalantly pissing

off the side of the road

soaking the young weeds

© Taneda Santoka (1882-1940)

I imagined a wandering nun. Her alternative haiku might be:

crouching

in bushes by the road

watering the crabgrass

©️2018 Ontheland

Photographed during Hiroshima commemoration of the bombing, August 6th 2014 by Vanvelthem Cédric

the summer moon

there are a lot of paper lanterns

on the street

© Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)

Imagining the Hiroshima commemorative lantern event years after Shiki’s time, I have…