Saturday, February 1, 2014

CHILLY SEASON FRAGMENT (ZEN HUMORESQUE)






SNOW


You're fluffy and white.
Also a beautiful sight.
You're the best season.






Jane wrote this haiku to fulfill a third grade class assignment at Tuxedo Park School many years ago.  Her teacher, Trudy Rodin, was so taken with it that she entered the haiku in a national poetry writing competition for pre-college students, and our family was surprised (we didn’t know that Mrs. Rodin had done this) and delighted to learn that Jane’s poem was selected for publication in a hardbound collection of prize-winning poems.  Naturally, we ordered several copies.

When the book arrived, we excitedly turned to the table of contents and then quickly to the page where Jane’s poem appeared.  Immediately (it doesn’t take a long time to read a haiku) and collectively, there was a sharp intake of breath. 

The poem on the page read:


 SNOW

You're fluffy and white.
Also a beautiful sight.
You are the best season.


As you can see, the editors added an extra syllable in line 3, destroying the 5/7/5 structure.  It’s best, I think, to try to see these things as funny, if you can, either in an Occidental or a Zen sort of way.  

I uncovered the original Tuxedo Park School “Pinecone Magazine” edition of “Snow” at home the other day.  I'd like to think that this story, along with the assorted contemporary Tokyo images and Slapp Happy’s splendid “Haiku,” will add to your enjoyment of today.






Slapp Happy: Haiku (Link)

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