Takenoko/Bamboo Shoots Haiku

going up and up

reaching for eternity

rigid, tall and straight

.

evergreen bamboo

shoots cut down and thinly sliced

boiled, to feast upon

.

survival circles

displayed around the body

every few inches

.

ward off the evil

takenoko surrounding

lonely Shinto shrine

.

wet and slippery

showered in the morning rain

a bamboo-poet writes

.

a childish cutter

gash shining stalk of bamboo

emerge moon goddess

.

shedding those gold tears

watching in pain, her moon world

born from bamboo stalk

* Written for Carpe Diem # 217 Takenoko/Bamboo Shoots

* The last two haiku are derived from a Japanese folktale; The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. I came to know about it in a Japanese cartoon show once.

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Here I tell a man’s story…

Here I tell a man’s story-

How he unleashed the power,

And achieved his glory.

Despite of the prevalent blood shower.

.

The man was adventurous,

Looking for the gold,

That is the most lustrous,

Which requires him to be quite bold.

.

He reached the bloody land.

Where there were present the relics of war,

He dug up the sand,

Till he reach the earth’s core.

.

Astounded, he found the big egg,

Made up of pure gold,

Without anyone’s reg,

He touched it, so cold.

.

The thunder rocked the sky-

And descended a big creature,

Scared, darkened color of deep fry,

And that very much tells about his feature.

.

The man, once terrified,

Did not know what to do,

And even cried,

And even peed, but not in the loo.

.

The creature sensed fear,

And spoke as if wanting man to adhere-

“Oh My Dear!

How dare you touch this sphere?”

.

The man was shaken,

But gained his sword ,

His body, nicely awaken,

Cut the head of the darkness’ lord.

.

The fight was won,

Which wasn’t a fight at all,

The deed was done,

The man’s head rose in pride tall.

.

Here comes the end of the story,

How a man unleashed the power,

And attained his false glory,

With no blood shower.

That was fun… I loved writing it. I know it is absurd, but that is the best thing about it, I think. Just for a quick laugh- yes, you can laugh reading this hopeless flop story.