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Haiku of Gabriel Rosenstock

 

 

Haiku: One-breath poetry, traditionally 17 syllables (5-7-5), now
increasingly practised outside Japan as a free-style form, usually in three
lines. It owes its impact and inspiration to a meditative flash in which the
experiencer of the haiku moment merges suddenly with perceived
phenomena.


Senryu: One-breath poetry, often without the flash, less nature-centred and
frequently lighter than haiku, usually touching on human foibles.


— Gabriel Rostenstock's definitions

 

Introduction

To enter a dialogue with Gabriel Rosenstock at this stage means a need to catch up with someone who has used this poetic form to perfection.

On 29th of November, I received from him another short message or rather a Haiku poem, and this in combination with a photo of lilies. The photo was taken by Ron Rosenstock (how he is related to Gabriel I need to find out). Gabriel Rosenstock writes primarily in Irish; at times, he translates his own poems into English.

maidin ghlas -
lilí ina chéile
go tláith


chilly morning -
lilies gently
in each other

 

After I read his poem, something touched me. I was drawn especially to the word 'gently'. Slowly a familiar tune came to me. It was linked to a song which Jack Pearce sung with children  'gently, gently down the river' and created a variation to end up being startled by the abrupt ending or rather coarse wording at the end.


gently goes the breeze,
gently down the river,
gently time passes by
leave after leave flutter
gently to the ground
to no longer utter
a single word.

hatto

His reply was a simple word: "thanks."

 

 

Note:

Haiku poems by Gabriel Rosenstock have appeared in Irish and in English in World Haiku Review, Lishanu, Simply Haiku, Modern Haiku, Lá, Feasta, Heron’s Nest, Haiku Reality, Haiku Scotland, on the websites of Non-Duality Salon Highlights and Poetry Chaikhana, Sacred Poetry from Around the World and in the volume Géaga Trí Thine (Comhar, 2006).

 

References:

Gabriel Rosenstock (2009) "Haiku: The Gentle Art of Disappearing", Cambridge Scholars Publishing

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