hailstones
in the attic the patter
of mice
Published by
Jane Reichhold
Jane Reichhold (1937-2016). Jane Reichhold was born as Janet Styer in 1937 in Lima, Ohio, USA. In her lifetime she published over forty books of her haiku, renga, tanka, and translations. As founder and editor of AHA Books, Jane also published Mirrors: International Haiku Forum, Geppo, for the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, and she co-edited with her husband Werner Reichhold, Lynx for Linking Poets from 1992 through 2013. Lynx went online in 2000 in AHApoetry.com , the website Jane started in 1995. From 2006 to 2016 she maintained an online forum ? the AHA Poetry forum. Jane was twice the winner of the Museum of Haiku Literature Award [Tokyo]. She was a three-time winner of a Haiku Society of America?s Merit Book Award: Tigers in Teacup, Silence, and A Dictionary of Haiku. She was the winner of numerous other haiku awards and was honored by the Emperor and Empress of Japan by invitation to attend the Imperial New Year?s Poetry Party as a guest at the Palace in Tokyo in 1998. Jane Reichhold was a gifted writer, translator and teacher of the art of haiku and other Japanese forms. The international haiku community is lessened by her passing. View all posts by Jane Reichhold
Lovely! I know those stones and I know those mice . . .
hailstones
in the attic the patter
of mice
—Jane Reichhold
I enjoyed the playfulness of 'in' so that I don't know if it was just hailstones in the attic (very alarming) or mice in the attic, or hailstones on the roof, plus mice in the attic, perhaps tap dancing in rhythm to the mice.
Brings an animalistic twist to Singin' in the Rain. :-)
warm regards,
Alan
I am so glad I discovered Tinywords. It is like being invited to a great modern renga party, in which so many of the greatest haiku poets of our language are participating!
Jane Reichhold, it is an honour and a joy to have an opportunity to share my response to your work today.
Jane's book "Basho The Complete Haiku" is for me the definitive sourcebook for that poet's work, and really guided my understanding of Basho the poet as well as his transformation of the form. Her humility is evident in her translations and in her commentary. Her own voice is quiet and respectful in that book.
But now I get to hear Jane speaking poetic words for herself, and I must say it confirms the premise of my own blogging website that reading and really studying the haiku of great poets is a path to poetic achievement. Jane has been immersed in perhaps the greatest of the historic haiku poets, and I sense she has imbibed the famous "karumi" or "lightness" invented by Basho.
The strong opening line certainly grabs my attention and sets a certain expectation of what is to follow. A storm, perhaps. Mentally I look up to the roof. But then – a delightful line of onomatopoeia matches the sound of pattering above our head. And the surprise at the end – inverting our expectations it is some mice which make the pattering, themselves disturbed no doubt by the sudden downpour. A playfulness in this poem which matches the "hailstone" poem by Basho (number 23 in Jane's book). And a spirituality of acceptance, of openess, of deep sympathy with nature and her creatures that is akin to Basho's own. One of my favourite Basho poems is this one (number 891 in her book):
baby sparrows
exchange voices with
rats in the nest
It is a pleasure to meet you here Jane. Thank you for sharing your own work with us.
Strider
ah, lovely haiku, vivid, I could actually visualise the scene. Thank you.
Thank you, Jane. The sounds of those mice are indeed haiku provoking!
frosty stars
the crackles of mice
in the ceiling
(paper wasp 17:3, 2011)
.
Despite meeting lots of mice both in Queensland and Wiltshire I've written only one about the wee critters:
late deadline
keeping owl hours
with the mice
Alan Summers
Publications credits: haijinx volume IV, issue 1 (2011)
.
Jane, I love your L 2.
Good one!
_kala
thunderstorm
laptop unplugged
I rub grandma's forks
I have to bookmark this site it seems very useful very beneficial
hailstones
in the attic the patter
of mice
—Jane Reichhold
luverly … the middle line works with the first and third … there's a name for that – i am rusty (a long interruption from writing and reading) ..
the patter of mice in the attic we get ….
hailstones
in the attic the patter
hailstones patter in the attic – to me is the sound of it while one potters about the attic
nonetheless … that switching between lines (and brain) works a treat !
so nice to be reading wonderful short form again ; Gina
I have been waiting for someone to share this post. This has actually made me think and I hope to read more. Thanks a lot for sharing with us.