Embedded Files
WHR January 2016
From the Editor's Desk : cat haiku preview
Can one compare haiku to cats? Here is an answer from our own editor, Rohini Gupta, whose love for cats has driven her into writing a book of cat haiku entitled "whiskers and purrs" which will shortly be published as an ebook. We are pleased to present you a sneak preview of it.
Susumu Takiguchi
From whiskers and purrs, a book of cat haiku
A preview
Introduction from the book
There’s something about cats and something about haiku. Both are sleek and minimalistic, moving with fluid grace and without an ounce of extra fat or bloated syllables – usually. Of course you find the occasional fat cat or obese haiku, but they are the exceptions.
I discovered haiku about a decade ago. Cats discovered me long before that, making my life a railway station since childhood, arriving and departing at will.
The first cat to arrive was a big black male whom I found sitting in the flowerbed one morning as I returned from school. I found him again, a few days later, curled up on a sofa at home, in a house where my father disliked animals with passion. That cat made an art of waiting for the door to open to the right width and slipping in like a dark shadow without anyone knowing.
He was all black and delightful so naturally I named him Luck.
Since then there have been cats of all colours and sizes, some visiting for food and some staying for life.
The cat and haiku connection did not happen at once. One day, sorting out poems for an anthology I realised my haiku diary was full of verses about cats. When cats take over your life and own every corner of your garden, they also give you an intense and graceful show in return for food, shelter and petting.
Feline grace naturally leaked into my haiku. But humans are slow and it still did not occur to me until one day the cat muse spoke loud and clear.
Yes, a book, and a book with only cat haiku.
It turned out to be surprisingly easy.
I’m sure the cats approve. There is a look in their large yellow green eyes when they look at me now, as I put their plates before them. They look as if they might be nodding to themselves, yes, yes, she got it at last.
I took the title from a haiku which seems to encapsulate the whole cat experience which tends to be unequal and heavily loaded towards the feline side.
the haiku
sleeping
on the marigold offerings
the temple cat
garden ballet
the kittens leap for every
falling leaf
kittens in a basket
hard to tell whose paw
whose tail
half the earth away
she’s there with a cat
I’m here with the dog
first drop of rain
the garden suddenly
catless
feeding time
each cat wants
the other’s plate
trying
to take a photo
one large cat eye
mid sentence
a furry paw bats
my pen away
feeling watched
great green eyes
wait for lunch
white paws
under the money plant
shy kitten
black cat
white cat
watch a sparrow
step shake
step shake shake shake
wet garden
a forest of tall tails
cats following the
dinner pail
finally
nothing on the table
but the cat
xz@!tapm
my cat’s great
Indian novel
bird bath
the kitten lost in its
own reflection
baleful eyes
the bounding dog takes
a sudden u-turn
sprinkled
on the sleeping cat
tiny almond blossoms
coffee break
the cat fast asleep
on my open book
sunny morning
on every window ledge
a preening cat
waiting at the door
the cat shelters under
the dog
lost cat
desperate meows come
from the cupboard
dinner coming down
the meows reach
the fifth floor
crashes in the dark
two grey kittens play
all night
Cat photos and cover credits - Rohini Gupta
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse