Assignment One: Haiku #1

Haiku #1: by Tateo Fukutomi

Source: http://simplyhaiku.com/SHv3n3/haiku/tateo_fukutomi_haiku.html

natsu no hama
tako kunya kunya to
hadashi no ko

Translation:

summer seashore—
an octopus writhing,
a barefooted child

In class, we discussed how a haiku represents a sort of flash of inspiration. This haiku, written by Tateo Fukutomi, deals with juxtaposition of two images that represent two very different things-- a writhing, slowly dying octopus out of its element on the shore (representing death and suffering) and a barefooted child walking innocently along the beach, probably excited by the crashing waves (representing innocence and the vitality of life). In my experience, this kind of stark juxtaposition that Fukutomi writes about here is the source of deep inspiration, and I particularly enjoyed this haiku because it engages with the very act of being hit with a flash of inspiration by the natural juxtapositions and ironies that we encounter in life. I also think that the haiku has a very specific emotional resonance because of its summer beach setting and the child that it describes; I think that a lot of people have their own memories of walking along the beach as a child and seeing foreign and grotesque creatures wash ashore and being somewhat frightened and in awe simultaneously....but that could also just be me! This poem reminded me of the first time I ever saw the underside of a horseshoe crab on the beach; it was scary and fascinating and I wanted to reach out and touch it so badly but I couldn't muster up the courage, so I eventually just walked away, turning back to look at it over my shoulder a couple times. I like that eight words could make me recall such a vivid and somewhat strange memory of my own.