Thread: Open Mic
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Unread 05-04-2004, 09:43 AM
Lee Gurga Lee Gurga is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Lincoln, Illinois, USA
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"Again and again" is not without its charm, but has a sentimental mood that is not one that would generally be asssociated with contemporary haiku. Contrast this haiku by contemporary Japanese master Akito Arima:

tenrô ya ainshutain no seiki hatsu

the dog star:
Einstein's century
comes to an end

Another thing intersting to note in this poem is the use of the kireji (cutting word) "ya." (I believe I mentioned these in the "punctuation" essay.) which is often "translated" as a colon. This is an example of a "syllable" in a Japanese haiku that has no meaning content other than to direct the reader's attention.

Lee
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