Haibun
A Refusal
All the seats
filled up—the bus runs fast through the sometimes crowded,
sometimes half busy streets of the city. I stand holding the
horizontal rod in the middle. Sitting before me is a long
forgotten face, almost the same as I saw it last, except that
it’s a bit dusty with wrinkles on the forehead. His eyes fall
on me, but after a bit with uneasiness avert causing a
shrink in me.
broken up—
the Joint family system
has left us scattered
The bus moves,
some passengers get down gradually but none comes in. It’s
noon. One person sitting before me gets ready to go. I become
ready to occupy his seat as chance occurs, by the side of my
cousin, but without looking at me he fidgets. Getting up, he
suddenly steps out as we arrive at the stop.
Jean Paul Sartre
loathes his childhood—
we too sometimes
A Black Cat
Our black cat has
now come of age. From the beginning we noticed its bodily
features—with straight whiskers and smooth skin it is alert.
From the beginning it has been bossing over other cats even as
the youngest. It hunts anything moving. But moving things in
and around the house are limited so it gets bored.
when very simple
we lose the varieties
of life
Recently its
attention has been diverted to flowing water. It seems that
the cat is very thoughtful when a watered plant pots causes
some flow of water down the slope or when water gurgles
through the channels as one opens the tap or uses the wash
basin. The cat runs after flowing water but its efforts to
catch it are frustrated.
choking the source
we stop the river flow—
without knowing
Ripening of
Paddies
It is a familiar
scene in autumn before the harvest. Paddies are full ripe.
Farmers are expectant and excited. Fields are full of smell—promise
to fulfill hunger. They wait for the right time to begin
harvesting. With them wait the others. When paddies ripen each
has his own interest in it.
pointed horns
around the shadowy field—
dance of hope
Read Aju
Mukhopadhyay's Global Correspondent report on India—Unknown
Among the Known
Read Aju
Mukhopadhyay's
"leaves" haiku in the thread
Read Aju
Mukhopadhyay's
"harvest moon" haiku in the kukai
