Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Haiku, tossers
Haiku composed in class:
Red and yellow leaves.
Mushrooms from North Korea,
harvested by Kim.
***
Notes for those not in the know:
1. Whilst a lot of folks back home will be familiar with the 5-7-5 format (generally courtesy of that South Park episode), some may not be familiar with haiku's seasonal connection. So, if it's not about a season, it's not a proper haiku.
2. The second line refers to matsutake mushrooms, a traditional Autumn delicacy. The Japanese matsutake harvest doesn't even come close to meeting demand, so matsutake are shipped in in great quantity from North America and neighbouring Asian countries, including the DPRK.
3. "Kim" in the third line was originally intended as none other than J.I. himself. On reflection, however, I decided he makes a good Korean Everyman: the name "Kim", after all, is very common in Korea, and graces president and pauper alike.
***
Here's another haiku for my trenchmates:
Gusts of Autumn wind:
dark clouds are thrust asunder
in a madman's dream.
Red and yellow leaves.
Mushrooms from North Korea,
harvested by Kim.
***
Notes for those not in the know:
1. Whilst a lot of folks back home will be familiar with the 5-7-5 format (generally courtesy of that South Park episode), some may not be familiar with haiku's seasonal connection. So, if it's not about a season, it's not a proper haiku.
2. The second line refers to matsutake mushrooms, a traditional Autumn delicacy. The Japanese matsutake harvest doesn't even come close to meeting demand, so matsutake are shipped in in great quantity from North America and neighbouring Asian countries, including the DPRK.
3. "Kim" in the third line was originally intended as none other than J.I. himself. On reflection, however, I decided he makes a good Korean Everyman: the name "Kim", after all, is very common in Korea, and graces president and pauper alike.
***
Here's another haiku for my trenchmates:
Gusts of Autumn wind:
dark clouds are thrust asunder
in a madman's dream.
