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# / Author
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CCI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Her filigree earrings
tremble — April wind
nibbling on her earlobes.
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CCII
Hugh Bygott
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Her coral lips ready,
she seals my lips with a touch ...
A hint of Spring scandal.
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CCIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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My lips and tongue
stained with blueberries —
still, your passionate kiss.
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| By the way, it took us 29 days to write the second 100 haiku. Zh.R. |
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CCIV
Hugh Bygott
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Unclasping her robe,
my fingers gently trace her curves ...
Roses in full bloom.
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CCV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Fast fingers
unfasten the golden pendant —
her rose-scented nape...
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CCVI
Michele Harvey
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a willing prisoner
to your eye
captured by a summer moon
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CCVII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Jontue? Jovan?
Which perfume to choose?
Class reunion, old flame...
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CCVIII
Hugh Bygott
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Her hair loosen'd, she turns
her virgin-lips seeking mine:
A perfect lily.
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I am quite happy to accept that CC, CCII and CCVIII are not haiku. They have more in common with the classical hokku and the spirit of court waka than with post-Shiki haiku. Since Bashô sometimes used 19 mora, I don't regard 17 as the cut-off number of mora for haiku. Nor do I accept onji theory as having any substance.
The attempts to re-write CC and CCII have lost part of the meaning. In CC, “chance” was a critical idea. There is a briliant poem by Charles Baudelaire in which he describes seeing a widow's ankle at her husband's funeral. He claimed that he would remember that sexual desire for eternity. This shocked XIX Century French literary society. Chance in that poem was a critical element. My view that a full finite verb is essential in English language haiku is well known. Present participles are not finite verbs in English... A lot of quality poetry has been sacrificed appeasing the god of minimalism... I intend to continue to compose haiku using the full resources of the English language. HB |
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CCIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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Guarded garden —
in gingers and ginsengs,
she visits her secret spot.
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CCX
Hugh Bygott
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Trellis'd flower —
I free her from her camisole,
kissing her naked breasts.
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Once more I am happy to admit that my 18 syllable poem is not a haiku. Those who are familiar with classical renga will know that “flower” is a summer kigo. It cannot be given a specification without losing its kigo status.
...I accept that CC and CCX do not fit the pattern demanded by onji theorists... Masaoka Shiki damaged haiku. The idea of these short poems can be traced back to Chinese prosody. This powerful short form of Japanese poetry was always present in the classical hiraku where some of the best Japanese poetry can be found. Shiki denied that renga, both ushin no renga and haikai no renga were poetry. The silliness of that view should be self evident.
The philosophical naivety of Blithe and Henderson further damaged the classical form so that only recently has Chico-in begun to take her place among the great Japanese poets.
My 17+ poems can be criticized because they seem to be quite descriptive. However, beyond that, there are always allusions and pointers to something different.
In Series XXII I will draw attention to the remarkable relation between religious experience and sexual experience.
May the Eros Series prosper!
Hugh Bygott, Cambridge England. |
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CCXI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Hot and wet...
I turn on the fan —
my pansies quiver.
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CCXII
Michele Harvey
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hot blooded night
the rose....
no longer a bud
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CCXIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Chocolate hearts
in her pink-polished fingers...
The rose loses a petal.
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CCXIV
Robert D. Wilson
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calla lily . . .
the wetness of
your smile
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CCXV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Valentine's Day —
straw-sipping together
from the same glass.
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CCXVI
Billie Dee
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summer cruise —
on the bank of the Volga
the lace maker's smile
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CXVII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Woman's Easter dance —
a country man keeps repeating:
"How young they're all!"
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CCXVIII
Rita Odeh
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summer drizzle
the violet relaxes
its petals
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CCXIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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A shower massage —
the indescribable
sensations...
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CCXX
Hugh Bygott
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In the silent chapel,
the Spring sunlight tints her hair ...
Distracted prayer.
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CCXXI
Zhanna P. Rader
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June, her low neckline...
He misses what she says
about Democrats.
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CCXXII
Hugh Bygott
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Outside, white winter —
In the chapel, nuns' prayers ...
I turn from Eros.
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CCXXIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Suddenly it snows...
her underwear on the clothesline
looks even lacier.
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CCXXIV
Hugh Bygott
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Lillies in the aisle —
The young widow remembers
her own Nuptial Mass.
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| In my recent postings I have been considering the loss of Eros, by choice or by Fate. HB |
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CCXXV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Spring colors
taking over the gloom —
her restless heart...
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CCXXVI
Billie Dee
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summer romance
your wispy contrail
blends with mine
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CCXXVII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Roses, chocolate
and sensuous poetry —
I take a cold shower.
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CCXXVIII
Hugh Bygott
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Wild violets unseen —
the perfection of final vows:
there is no way back.
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After writing this I remembered Chiyo-ni's little known haiku,
A lover's vow
made on a summer night is frightening ...
frost on the bridge.
A lover's vow is made in the throes of Eros. A religious vow denies Eros, a perfect denial. Yet for each, time will be the enemy. HB |
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CCXXIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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He kisses her cheek
under the mistletoe —
she seeks his lips.
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CCXXX
Hugh Bygott
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Saint Teresa —
flowering ecstatic vision ...
passion she cannot bear.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_St_Theresa
"The two focal sculptural figures derive from an episode described by Teresa of Avila in her autobiography, The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582), a mystical cloistered Discalced Carmelite reformer and nun. The chapter describes divine visions, including one where she saw a young, beautiful, and lambent angel standing aside her body:"
Lorenzo Bernini
Ecstasy of St. Teresa
1647-52
Marble
height c. 11' 6" (3.5m)
Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.
How is Bernini's sculpture of St Teresa's face to be understood? Can any Eros match this seemingly orgasmic beauty? HB |
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CCXXXI
Zhanna P. Rader
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Jacuzzi —
what the bubbled water hides,
shows on their faces.
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CCXXXII
Robert D. Wilson
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lure me, blossom,
into a thousand
tomorrows
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CCXXXIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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The front door opens —
a trail of rose petals
leads to her bedroom.
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CCXXXIV
Michele Harvey
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shared perfume
the blossom scents
the bee
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CCXXXV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Valentine's Day —
she brushes a chanced mosquito
off her neck.
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| Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! |
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CCXXXVI
Hugh Bygott
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Fine buds, soft kisses —
Blossoms open and wild lips close ...
All things must pass.
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CCXXXVII
Zhanna P. Rader
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Leaf-fall —
you leave me, and my life
is a new blank page.
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CCXXXVIII
Hugh Bygott
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Lilacs in our youth —
Easing down her silk stockings
I find her childhood scar.
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CCXXXIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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He runs his fingers
through her loosened hair —
a scent of hay...
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CCXL
Michele Harvey
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dancing...
between two moons
and beneath the stars
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CCXLI
Hugh Bygott
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Lying above me,
Her long hair is the willow:
I, the swift water.
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CCXLII
Michele Harvey
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petals tremble
at the slightest touch . . .
this spring breeze
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| They are certainly "dancing" through all these haiku. :) Zhanna |
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CCXLIII
Zhanna P. Rader
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"Gorse is out of blossom —
kissing's out of fashion."
Those two love birds live it.
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| Common gorse flowers most strongly in spring, though it bears some flowers year round, hence the old country phrase: "When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion". Perhaps, not only kissing? Zh. R. |
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CCXLIV
Hugh Bygott
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Strangers passing —
a Spring gust lifts her split-skirt ...
these deep wells of desire.
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Although beautiful, I suggest, Hugh, that you tighten up your verse....it is 18 syllables by my count. rw
Perhaps:
a spring gust
lifts up her skirt; deep
wells of desire
It seems that my natural style is 18 syllables. Any attempt to reduce to minimalism leads to a loss of meaning. HB |
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CCXLV
Zhanna P. Rader
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Jacaranda shadows
flicker on her face...
on her bosom...
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CCXLVI
Michele Harvey
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lover's leap
at first sight
a racing heart
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CCXLVII
Hugh Bygott
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Ash Wednesday —
just for this brief time,
Eros is silent.
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CCXLVIII
Michele Harvey
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spring cleaning
in the sheets
his shape
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CCXLIX
Zhanna P. Rader
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A dent
in the beach sand where she lay —
he moves to the spot.
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CCL
Hugh Bygott
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Her red lacquered nails —
How elegantly poised,
sharp as the thorn'd rose.
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There are two instances of juxtaposition in this classical hokku: the lacquered thorn and the blood red rose.
I would like to see a wide range of styles in this Eros Series. HB |
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