English Original
letting
the cat in
the fog in
Haiku Moment, 1993
vincent tripi
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
讓
貓進來
霧進來
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
让
猫进来
雾进来
Bio Sketch
Founder of The Haiku Circle, vincent tripi was closely associated with the spiritual movement in American Haiku. He wrote haiku for over 35 years, and published 14 books of haiku. Most of his haiku reflect a Buddhist foundation.
Symmetrical Rhythmic Substitution
ReplyDeleteletting
the cat in
the fog in
(Vincent Tripi in Ross, 1993)
an empty elevator
opens
closes
(Jack Cain, 1969)
Rhythmic repetition combines with lineation, creating disjunctions yielding a light, humorous effervescence. In the above examples brevity also plays a role. “Substitution” refers to word substitutions occurring in symmetrically repeated rhythmic patterns. Neither of these haiku contain kireji in the traditional sense. Rather, the symmetrical substitution evokes a quality of superposition (image layering) and jump‑cut, filmic “snapshot” action, as cat/fog, and opens/closes arise both as identities (two sides of the same coin), and are paradoxically separated by the disjunctive “jump cut” technique. These haiku contain not one but two juxtapositions, of varying intensity.
-- excerpted from Richard Gilbert, The Disjunctive Dragonfly: A Study of Disjunctive Method and Definitions in Contemporary English‑language Haiku, "Kumamoto Studies in English Language and Literature," 47, Kumamoto University, 2004