English Original
Laughing Buddha
covered in pollens
still still
tsuri-doro, 15, 2023
Millicent Bee
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
歡喜佛
沾滿了花粉
依然靜止
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
欢喜佛
沾满了花粉
依然静止
Bio Sketch
Millicent Bee is a US-based haiku and senryu poet, First Frost Award winner, two-time Touchstone Award nominee, and author of The Haiku Foundation "Haiku of the Day" for December 1, 2025. Her work appears in top journals, including The Heron's Nest, Prune Juice, and tsuri-doro.
This haiku works effectively because it embodies the essence of karumi (“lightness”), Bashō’s late poetic ideal that favored simplicity, naturalness, and gentle humor over heavy emotion or intellectual display. Rather than treating seasonal allergies as a source of suffering or self-pity, the haiku approaches them with playful spiritual acceptance.
ReplyDeleteIn Ls 1&2, the Laughing Buddha (Chinese: Budai) symbolizes contentment, abundance, and the ability to rise above worldly discomforts. His "round, cheerful face" subtly mirrors the "swollen, puffy face" of an allergy sufferer, creating a humorous yet compassionate parallel. Covered in pollen, he appears to laugh with the season rather than resist it, suggesting a "harmonious acceptance of nature’s cycles."
The plural “pollens” in L 2 is also significant. Rather than referring to a single source, the word suggests multiple kinds of pollen circulating together through the air, evoking a lush ecological environment filled with flowering plants, trees, and grasses simultaneously shedding their seasonal dust. The image naturally suggests a garden setting, where Laughing Buddha statues are often placed, reinforcing the atmosphere of tranquility and contemplation. In this way, the haiku expands beyond the irritation of allergies and presents pollen as part of a larger cycle of abundance, renewal, and interdependence.
The repetition of “still” is the haiku’s strongest technical feature. The first “still” conveys continuity or persistence: despite being coated in pollen, the Buddha remains joyful and serene. The second “still” emphasizes physical immobility; as a statue, he passively allows the yellow dust to settle upon him without resistance. This subtle antanaclasis—the repetition of a word with shifting meanings—deepens the haiku’s tone of calm endurance and quiet humor.
Dear Chen-ou,
ReplyDeleteI was so pleased to see your revision of my sister's haiku and its beautiful Chinese translation. Your commentary is engaging and very inspiring, especially at this time of year. Thank you for the splendid experience!
Most sincerely,
JoAnn Bertana