This week's haiku prompt on One Deep Breath is ritual or ceremony. We were asked to think about a ritual or ceremony from our own life, but what came to me first was this haiku below, which is based on a poem I posted earlier here:
Air burial
vultures take body, heart, soul,
Heavenwards
I have always been of the view that haiku in English do not need to strictly follow the 5-7-5 syllable rule, after all English is not a syllabic language in the same way that Japanese is. The point to me of a haiku is to capture a moment....
this haiku literally gave me goosebumps...it's profoundly beautiful
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful haiku, if a little gruesome! I've always despised vultures, having witnessed so many of them feasting on roadkill in the US. I know they're necessary for ecological balance, etc. etc., but they freak me out - like dark invaders of death.
ReplyDeleteso good, and so few words!
ReplyDeleteExtremely powerful! It took my breath away.
ReplyDeleteI admit to a little "frisson" when I read this. Very evocative haiku.
ReplyDeletepowerful image - wow
ReplyDeleteYes, that's powerful - I totally agree about not following the 5-7-5 "rule". Actually not even all haiku in Japanese follow that rule.
ReplyDeletewonderful haiku. Sometimes, what needs to be said is better said with less, like this. beautiful.
ReplyDeletePowerful image. Well done!
ReplyDeleteFelt a chill with this and had the sense of ascending.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful description of Buddhist sky burial, and I like the part about vultures taking the heart and soul to heaven along with the earthly remains. Vultures take a bad rap as carrion eaters, but they are spectacular fliers, riding the thermals with unparalleled ease and power. Reading this, I found myself thinking of their grace in flight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, folks! I saw The Cave of the Yellow Dog last night and there are plenty of vultures in that and yes they are ugly on the ground (but their faces are like that for good reason - to stop their feathers getting matted with the blood and gore from the carrion!). But they are spectacular when they fly! I also love the idea of almost literally being taken to heaven when you die.
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ReplyDeleteI loved this eerie haiku.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog :)
Marco
I'm not one for haikus but I must say that I enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe someone managed to make air burial stop seeming the most disgusting thing in the world. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Marco, David and Nia!
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