Thursday, June 30, 2016

Comments on the Poems in Weekly Romanian Kukai no. 449

A few comments on the poems that were awarded prizes.

serving tea -
in the chipped cup
full moon

It is understandable that a custom is even more durable when the object used is older. A small chipped cup is preferred for its long-time fidelity and the stigma it wears from the harm it got while doing its job. The Japanese name for this uniformity and lack of symmetry combined with the mark of time is sabishia. After all, what is important is that, despite its chipping, the cup can reflect, as a wound, but equally faithfylly, the roundness of the moon.

a white butterfly
sitting on my chest -
I can barely breathe

No, this is not about a pressing weight. It is just the fear of not chasing him away. It is about mastering your emotion.


lullaby -
in the mother's rocking chair
a bouquet of poppies

Lullaby, a swing and a rocking chair. Are these not the same thing? Eloquent in their silence, the poppies sing a lullaby. Perhaps the same one as the mother does and that the son’s gesture recovers and pays it homage. The swinging is a kind of relief.


sun’s ascent -
bent towards the ground
the heavy spikes

    The tension is balanced. The spikes bend not just as a sign of homage to the sun but also as a sign that they cherish its gold.

scorching sun -
in the fountain’s bucket
the cool day

    The cool day and the scorching heat compensate for one another. And today they live in harmony.

orchards in flames -
everything started from
a ripe cherry

    The visual miracle proves to be one of the plants’ development. Of life that is not repressed.



fatigue -
on the floral dress
a live butterfly

We do not know if what is mentioned in the first part concerns the status of the artificial flowers, of the accidental fatigue of the butterfly or the temptation of the dress (for any observer that gives his philanderer’s attention).

deep water -
the whirl slowly absorbs
moonlight

    Allegorically speaking, the poem captures the meditation, the silent whirlwind of thoughts that slowly sip the moonlight and store it in deep inside the soul. The mirroring that steals from the depths.

only a brief respite -
over the scythes’ shine
grasshoppers’ jumps


The picture is wonderful. The respite of the workers unleashes the locusts. Which are there at the right place, just in front of the right mirror.

alone on the platform -
shaking off its flowers
a bitter cherry

What would loneliness be like without these almost reproving cues? The dismantled platform, the cherry tree in bloom with nobody to witness this, the bitterness of words.


a crippled man admiring
the arms of a tree -
it too has a stump!

    Empathy. Without discrimination and boundaries.

(Corneliu Traian Atanasiu)

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