Born Lucky :: Haiku of Japan #71
鳥のうちの鷹に生まれし汝かな
tori no uchi no taka ni umareshi nanji kana
among all birds
you had the fortune
to be born a hawk
—Hashimoto Keiji
(Tr. David LaSpina)
(Hawk on a Pine Tree, by Ohara Koson)
You can feel Hashimoto's love for hawks in this haiku. He wrote a number of haiku on hawks. How lucky to be born a hawk rather than some lowly other kind of bird.
In fairness, hawks are pretty cool!
❦
| Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series! |
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#1–10 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #1
#11–20 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #2
#21–30 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #3
#31—40 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #4
#41–50 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #5
#51—60 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #6
#61 — Turncoat Umbrella
#62 — Ten Autumns
#63 — Scattering Leaves
#64 — Gravekeeper
#65 — To Kill an Ant
#66 — Frosty Rose
#67 — Don't Give Up
#68 — Matsushima
#69 — Meeting With the Buddha
#70 — Winter Wind
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I post one photo everyday, as well as a haiku and as time allows, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
| Who is David? | |
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 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |
Awesome painting as well. It's interesting how certain themes recurr in different haijin's work... Will need to go look up some more by him :)
As they always say, write what you know. I think many haijin, now and then, follow that advice.
I really like this!
Glad to hear it :)
There is a terrible majesty to hawks, @dbooster... I remember, well, when a young hawk snatched one of my pigeons off the eggs she was sitting on, how upset I was. Mama pigeon had put up a noble fight, refusing to leave her baby-to-be, so the hawk had to dig his talons into her back and fly off with her, leaving a mess of feathers strewn across my balcony floor.
I rushed out to collect the still warm eggs, and the showdown with the hawk remains emblazoned on my mind. No sooner had I returned inside the house, and shut the balcony glass door, the hawk was back to collect the eggs and clearly displeased to see them cupped in my hands...
For what seemed like a short eternity, this fierce-looking creature stared me down, yellow eyes glowing. I admit to experiencing a strong mixture of of fear and awe --- like I was confronting a winged tiger!
Then, as if in slow motion, the hawk turned away from me with a kind of regal disinterest, leaned into the air, and returned to the sky he came from.
Wow, that is a great story @yahialababidi. Hawks are majestic but also quite violent. A winged tiger is a good description. A winged raptor maybe!
This should be the official haiku of the University of Iowa!
What a great idea! Come to think of it, every university needs an official haiku