Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Today a kind of dirty prompt ... Bed Bugs (watamushi) ... in the time of our classical haiku poets a very common insect. Fleas and Lice were very common than. Watamushi means also Cotton Fly, a little insect that's living on cotton plants and sometimes in cotton clothes. All insects you don't want to deal with I think.
So here it goes ... writing haiku on a bed bug ... hm ... not easy I think, but of course I have to do this.
First I have an example of a modern haiku poet Narayanan (one of the hosts of Wonder Haiku Worlds ):
bed bugs again?
where were they hiding
all these days?
(c) Narayanan
 |
| Watamushi (cottonfly) |
Matsuo Basho wrote this one on 'bed bugs':
eaten alive by
lice and fleas - now the horse
beside my pillow pees
(c) Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
Or what do you think of this one by Buson, our Special haiku master for this month:
picking off his lice
a beggar's wife
under a plum tree
(c) Yosa Buson (1716-1783)
Bed Bugs huh I don't like them at all, but it's a joy to play the game 'Bed Bugs':
I don't know if I can write a haiku about bed bugs ... well let's go ...
sleepy head
scratching his legs
bitten by bedbugs
Well ... I hope you don't have bedbugs ... but I hope you are inspired by this prompt. Have fun and share your haiku on Carpe Diem.
This prompt will stay on 'till December 6th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our first Carpe Diem Special later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).
This is the haiku by Buson which I will use for this first Carpe Diem Special:
mandarin duck -
rain falls silently
from an oak
(tr. Chèvrefeuille)
This prompt bugs me little. Enjoyed your post. I can see its a winter word, confined as we might be under dirty blankets bugged by bugs. Thank you for the prompt.
ReplyDeleteI had to think on this prompt for about 24 hours and research bedbugs before I could write anything. I threw out about a half dozen attempts before settling two.
ReplyDeleteI like when that happens.
Thanks for the prompt - humour is there!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Björn! I thought quite a lot at home and this morning I had the idea to three haiku.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you liked this post 'bedbugs' and I am glad that you all have written such wonderful haiku on this prompt. I myself had some trouble with writing on this prompt, but just like you all did, I succeeded too. Thank you all for being part in Carpe Diem. It makes me humble to see and read that you like Carpe Diem's daily haiku meme.
ReplyDelete