indian summer:
dragonfly shadows seldom
brush the window - Shiki

Haiku has its roots in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Japan, when poetry writing was group entertainment and honored guests were afforded the privilege of composing the opening verse. Today, haiku is enjoyed worldwide, its spare but evocative form a delight for language-lovers. This elegant little anthology collects hundreds of haiku from traditional masters and contemporary poets, the tiny poems following the elemental themes of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal. Translated from Japanese, not all of the selections adhere to the traditional form - seventeen syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern - but each is a bright burst of poetic beauty!