Biting NOT Barking: Flag-Covered Coffin Haiku by Nick Virgilio

English Original

flag-covered coffin:

the shadow of the bugler

slips into the grave

Selected Haiku, 1988

Nick Virgilio

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

覆蓋國旗的棺材：

一位吹號手的影子

滑入墳墓

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

覆盖国旗的棺材：

一位吹号手的影子

滑入坟墓

Bio Sketch

Nick Virgilio (June 28, 1928 – January 3, 1989) was an internationally acclaimed poet who played a pivotal role in popularizing haiku in the United States. Following his debut publication in American Haiku in 1963, Virgilio composed thousands of poems over a career spanning more than two decades. His seminal 1988 collection, Selected Haiku, remains one of the most influential volumes in American haiku history. To explore his legacy further, read Cor van den Heuvel’s 1990 essay, "Nick Virgilio and American Haiku: Creating Haiku and an Audience," originally prepared for the International Haiku Forum in Matsuyama, Japan.

Biting NOT Barking: Bullet-Riddled Helmet Haiku by Nick Virgilio

English Original

deep in rank grass,

through a bullet-riddled helmet:

an unknown flower

Selected Haiku, 1988

Nick Virgilio

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

從茂密的草叢深處

透過佈滿彈孔的頭盔:

一朵不知名的花

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

从茂密的草丛深处

透过布满弹孔的头盔:

一朵不知名的花

Bio Sketch

Nick Virgilio (June 28, 1928 – January 3, 1989) was an internationally acclaimed poet who played a pivotal role in popularizing haiku in the United States. Following his debut publication in American Haiku in 1963, Virgilio composed thousands of poems over a career spanning more than two decades. His seminal 1988 collection, Selected Haiku, remains one of the most influential volumes in American haiku history. To explore his legacy further, read Cor van den Heuvel’s 1990 essay, "Nick Virgilio and American Haiku: Creating Haiku and an Audience," originally prepared for the International Haiku Forum in Matsuyama, Japan.

Poetic Musings: Town Barberpole Haiku by Nick Virgilio

town barberpole

stops turning:
autumn nightfall

Selected Haiku, 1989

Nick Virgilio

Commentary: ... in Virgilio’s poem, we get a profound sense of ending, even of death, when the barberpole is shut off—or turns off for some other reason (power failure?). The day too is ending, as night falls, and the year’s seasons are drawing to a close with autumn. The elements work together to create a feeling of sadness...

-- excerpted from To the Lighthouse: "Thirteen Ways of Reading Haiku" by Michael Dylan Welch

Note: It might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following barberpole haiku by John W. Wisdom

the slow turn
of a barber’s pole --
afternoon heat

This poem by John W. Wisdom brings up images of old town America. We can envision a small town where a person is waiting to get a haircut. The slow turn of the pole reminds us of the cyclical nature of time: how days, weeks, and months rise in an endless parade. We can almost feel the weight of atmosphere hanging in the air making us pause to consider the world at a diminished pace.

-- excerpted from Haiku Society of America NewsLetter, 35:7, July 5 2020