A Kind of Elaborate Doodling I did while Thinking about Issa in ProvincetownAfter finding the book of Japanese Haiku at Tim's Used Bookstore in Provincetown, I became very interested in Issa. One of my favorites of his was, and still is:
In this windy nest
Open your hungry mouth in vain
Issa, stepchild bird.
I later found a book of 45 Haiku by Issa, translated by Nanao Sakaki. Nanao Sakaki is an Issa-like, playful prophet. Sakaki believes that compassion is not something we make, that it is human nature: "Everybody has it originated in our blood," he says. Sakaki says that Issa wrote 20,000 Haiku! Out of the 20,000, he loves "maybe 200." Out of the 20,000, "maybe 10 great."
One of the 45 Haiku translated by Sakaki that I like a lot is:
Just myself
Also, one fly
--an enormous house.
It says something to me about loneliness.
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