I regularly check NHK's Haiku Masters for new works. There are so many good haiku coming into being all the time, in addition to the millions that have already been written. It is easy to get lost in the works of the old Japanese masters and forget how this tradition of verse writing has only grown stronger and perhaps richer. Not being Japanese is no longer such a disadvantage, though understanding much of the native oevre requires some investigation into pre-modern Japanese thinking - lifestyles, social relations, religion and so forth. There are more a-ha moments when one has an inkling of the deeper structures at work.

Today I publish one of the runners-up in the photo haiku section. The photo is only a starting point for the thought that becomes the haiku, rather than merely a description, as will be apparent from this little gem.



I case you can't read the script, the poem goes:

the old train station-
only from the swallow nest
departures and arrivals


Capota Daniela Lacramioara