Try something new to get through the dreary winter days
Well here it is February and still home alone. I'm still minimizing excursions outside because of the looming coronavirus, which is getting worse and worse. This is very dangerous — not good for anyone and certainly not for the bereaved, whether experiencing recent grief or long-term grief. We really should be out there with other people.
So what do we do as this inside winter experience continues? One idea is to try something new.
Recently, two dear friends, one who has spent lots of time in Japan and one who was born and raised in Japan but for many years now an American, translated a haiku for me. It was given to my dear Baheej when he was on sabbatical in Japan years ago. It's a very famous poem. I knew the general meaning but here are the two translations:
An ancient pond
A frog jumps in
The splash of water
(By Basho Matsuo, 1686)
The second translation:
The quiet pond
A frog leaps in
The sound of water
(Translated by Edward Seidensticker)
Translations of poetry vary of course depending on who is doing the translating and into what language.
I decided to look into the nature of the haiku. It's a certain type of poetry, each one only 17 syllables, usually three lines. I thought, here is something new, a fresh amusement for these dark winter nights and mornings.
So I ordered a little book on “The Classic Tradition of Haiku.” It arrived and early this morning I wrote my first Haiku.
It conforms to the syllable count and has three lines, but it is not very good. (It's about the coronavirus, rather dreary). I'll keep trying.
The haiku should create an opportunity for the reader to imagine his/her own interpretation! Mine was not a very cheery or interesting first haiku, but it has some of the typical elements of a haiku — a story, some contrast. I'm not a puzzle person but this is like solving a puzzle with its rules of form and purpose. I will try again with a more uplifting tone!
The point is: The more inventive we are at entertaining ourselves these days, the better off we will be when spring finally comes.
My beloved Baheej always considered February to be the start of spring because the buds started being visible on the big silver maples. I should write a haiku on that theme.
Well, we still have a ways to go to the actual spring, so doing something new is worth a try. I've never written any type of poem before so it was fun. There are lots of new homebound experiences we can try: new types of books to read, new shows on TV, different types of music, languages to learn, new recipes to attempt, new home projects — the list is endless when you think about it.
Just experiment with something different, and you may discover a new activity you really enjoy these winter February days and nights.
Oh, it just came to me, my second haiku. Much better:
February is winter.
My beloved thinks it's spring,
buds are on the trees.
• Susan Anderson-Khleif of Sleepy Hollow has a doctorate in family sociology from Harvard, taught at Wellesley College and is a retired Motorola executive. Contact her at sakhleif@comcast.net or see her blog longtermgrief.tumblr.com. See previous columns at www.dailyherald.com/topics/Anderson-Kleif-Susan.