Making a case for his belief that the Haiku form is not well suited to English, in his collections "A Net of Fireflies" and "A Chime of Windbells" Harold Stewart presented translations in a more indigenous form of couplets, like these:
ON A DRAWING BY SOKEI-AN
The black cat’s face: an unexpected dawn
Has swallowed midnight in a wide pink yawn.
Hô-ô
PERFECTION
The host said not a word. The guest was dumb.
And silent, too, the white crysanthemum.
Ryôta
THE MASTER STROKE
A seedling shoulders up some crumbs of ground:
The fields are suddenly green for miles around!
Hô-ô
FIRE AND WATER
Can these be sparks of rain or drops of light?
Fireflies darting through a shower at night.
Moritake
OLD FRIENDS
Ah, leaves remaining, ask the autumn squall
Which from your bough will be the next to fall!
Sôseki
[This message has been edited by Mario Pita (edited December 15, 2003).]
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