THE THEME OF MIRRORING IN HAIKU POEMS
THE THEME OF MIRRORING IN HAIKU POEMS

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the present paper is to look at haiku poems dealing with the theme of mirroring. While haiku poems originate in Japan, they can prove to be adaptable to any culture. We can start from the following haiku poem by master Matsuo Basho, who is believed to be the one who started off the haiku writing tradition: “Harvest moon:/ around the pond I wander/ and the night is gone.” Haiku poems are traditionally placed in three lines, 5-7-5 syllables, and with a reference offering a clue to the season where everything happens. The focus is on the here and now. However, current trends in haiku writing show more eagerness to experiment, and bring in changes. The experience of writing haiku proves to be universal, across cultures. One case examined will be that of the Romanian Kukai community led by master Corneliu Traian Atanasiu. The topic of mirroring has been dealt with in an anthology where work from authors in his group was included, in order to popularize for the general public this kind of poem. The translated title could be A paper boat jumping over the clouds, meaning that the paper boat is sitting on a lake or in a pond, and the clouds are reflecting in the lake, creating the optical illusion of the boat floating on the clouds, or in the sky. This is a poetic experience, which is, after all, as real as it can be, due to the way nature works. Basho’s poem shows the value of karumi, or gasping at the beauty of nature, once we realize that, through the optical illusion of having the moon mirrored in the pond, it simply lies at our feet, as if it is so within our reach, even if, scientifically, it lies light years’ distance from us.

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