One of my favorite haiku is by Taigi:
“Don’t touch my plum tree,”
My friend said. Then broke a branch
and gave it to me.
I often ponder the meaning of this haiku. It’s intended to be an incomplete story, one that you meditate on to find your own meaning. Sometimes, I think of it as a story of consent and control. The friend doesn’t mind sharing but wants control of how things are shared. Sometimes, it feels to me like the haiku is about making up for one’s mistakes. Maybe the friend regretted his harsh tone? To make up for it, he not only gives a branch but destroys a piece of his property to do so. Sometimes, I think the friend is trying to show his power over the tree and over the author. It’s worth noting that a branch of a plum tree can grow into a new plum tree. So, maybe the friend is saying, “You can’t enjoy the benefits of my work, but you can work to make something of your own, and I’ll help you with that.”
What do you think it means?
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 at 12:52 pm
“Give a hungry man a fish and satisfy him today.
Teach him to fish and satisfy him for a lifetime.”
It’s a re-telling of that idea to me. I’ve never really grokked haiku. I was never taught in school about this form of poetry and, quite frankly, I’ve been annoyed by that many times.
Recent study of “flash fiction” however has given me new insight and appreciation for the little poems tho.
A friend’s “flash fiction” (written while looking at a set of 4 lazy boys arranged on a tennis court like players):
Divorced four times. Looking for number five.
6-word stories I’ve composed for a “flash” assignment:
She chose country pink hydrangea upholstery.
Wish she lived closer to me.
Since ’57 my proof of Heaven.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010 at 2:15 am
This is one of my favourite haikus as well. The translation I’ve seen most says “Don’t touch my plum tree! Said my friend, and saying so, broke a branch for me.” There is a sense in the original Japanese of concurrence; the friend is breaking the branch to give to the author as he says not to touch his tree. I think the juxtaposition of saying,”Don’t touch MY plum tree” against the breaking and offering the branch is intended to catch the reader ‘off guard.’ I’ve always taken it to mean more that the friend is saying, “Don’t exert yourself- allow me.” That’s what I love about haiku. It’s so simple, beautiful and subjective.