The Two-Line Pass

Konnichiwa.

Partly because I have recently taken a shine to Japanese poetry and theatre (what?), and partly because it will be much, much easier and quicker this way, I have decided to preview the season for each conference in the ancient art of haiku. All teams will be covered in the order in which I believe they’ll finish. Yes, these are meant to take some thought.

icy climes their home
flightless birds reign once again!
soaring over all

ursidaeic lords
claws lethal, defenses strong
a young prince not missed

seat of southern might
assassin’s blade yields glory
as sakura grin

crown’d heads of Yomi
fortified against attacks
stalwart soldiers sing

hardy men take flight
an ingenious confluence,
cruel and agile both

empire’s achievement!
greatness close enough to touch
reach falls sadly short

tempest swirls slower
detrimental commitments;
a morose drizzle

fallen leaves trod on
crunched underfoot, forgotten
spring’s blooms in autumn

northern denizens
their royal mount abandon’d.
yet still there is hope

age of discontent
a blue land’s slow progresses
next year, a harvest

the thundering herd
its ranks thinned and endangered
whither their sanctum?

grown cats though they are,
bereft of both claw and tooth
playful kittens mew

thunder rolls like drums
a hard rain pounds the rooftops
mute Futsunushi

old man casts his net
a fruitless apprentice yawns
intolerant seas

legislators’ woe!
the harsh winter wind like knives
scars last a lifetime

Arigato.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.