Haiku People

As a huge "thank you" gift for the weeks and weeks of planning and hard work (ahem!) in preparation for our heinous Trustees/Commencement week, my boss and his wife gave me a wonderful little book called Haiku People, published by Weatherhill (now an imprint of Shambhala Publications).

Inside are over 100 haikus written by haiku masters like Buson, Basho, and Issa. The bilingual edition includes beautifully rendered woodblock prints of 17th to 20th century Japanese artists. I love these images and haikus because they reveal glimpses of the external life of the Japanese during these centuries, and they also reveal the inner lives, emotions, psyches, and states of being of humanity. The major sections reveal images of childhood, maturity and old age -- each with its own mysteries, earthy/human beauty, and humor.

I just received it today, and am happily browsing through one haiku or one woodblock print at a time. After each one, I want to rush to share with someone -- perhaps find someone who would also giggle over these images of Japanese "beauties" bathing naked.

Today was also the final day of our academic year, and the day of Commencement services. Everyone was dressed in their finest garb, milling about sharing and talking with each other, congratulating graduates and honorees on a job well done; acknowledging fine work by staff and faculty alike.

The bright colors of flowers, and fabrics; the swish of crispy leaves being blown by cold wind; the fragrance of incense from the altar; the sound of restless children crying; the sweet taste of eucharistic bread and wine; the bodies moving in coordination and rhythmic fashion through the courtyard and Refectory... This and all that makes up Commencement. Graduation. Celebrations.

I thought the following haiku was most apropriate to share with you now:

Men, women
and their shadows--
dancing

- Santoka