Traditional haiku for mushroom hunters....

[Angel Tarragon]

Here's another one I really like:

Mushroom hunting;
Tall people
Are no good at it.

I think I'm missing the point. How come tall people are no good at mushroom hunting?

Myc, if you get a chance, please comment on my haikus.

 

[Mycanid]

This one is not haiku (sorry for the OT post) but it is poetry, and sorta interesting. It's also a longer poem. Here goes:

Mushrooms
by Charles Tomlinson

for Jon and Jill

Eyeing the grass for mushrooms, you will find
A stone or stain, a dandelion puff
Deceive your eyes—their colour is enough
To plump the image out to mushroom size
And lead you through illusion to a rind
That's true—flint, fleck or feather. With no haste
Scent-out the earthy musk, the firm moist white,
And, played-with rather than deluded, waste
None of the sleights of seeing: taste the sight
You gaze unsure of—a resemblance, too,
Is real and all its likes and links stay true
To the weft of seeing. You, to begin with,
May be taken in, taken beyond, that is,
This place of chiaroscuro that seemed clear,
For realer than a myth of clarities
Are the meanings that you read and are not there:
Soon, in the twilight coolness, you will come
To the circle that you seek and, one by one,
Stooping into their fragrance, break and gather,
Your way a winding where the rest lead on
Like stepping stones across a grass of water.

Sourse: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=176223

 

[hafrogman]

I think I'm missing the point. How come tall people are no good at mushroom hunting?

Because mushrooms grow close to the ground. They're not trees. Unless you've been hanging around in D&D adventures where they're huge.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Because mushrooms grow close to the ground. They're not trees. Unless you've been hanging around in D&D adventures where they're huge.

Okay, so they are too tall to even notice them? Is that the point?

 

[Mycanid]

I think I'm missing the point. How come tall people are no good at mushroom hunting?

Myc, if you get a chance, please comment on my haikus.

Ahh ... obviously not gone hunting for 'em!

Seriously though ... mushrooms grow on the ground and often under things (leaves, etc.) so to have a "mushrump" as they are called catch the eye, you have to be down low and have an experienced eye - one I have not been able to develop much after all these years, admittedly.

Shorter people not only have less distance to stoop, but can crawl under branches and bushes and such after spied specimens!

 

[hafrogman]

But is the word "seizing" what is implied? Is their eagerness involved, or is it a delicate enjoyment, tread upon lightly as a butterfly on the breeze and just as fragile and beautiful?

I think there is supposed to be an element of excitement involved. Not so much the sense of theft, but the concept of taking firm hold of what you desire. English has a problem with many words meaning different things to different people as well. Perhaps the poem (and subsequent translation) has a different meaning depending on who is gathering the mushrooms.

 

[Mycanid]

Perhaps ... I, of course, interpret the translations based on what I understand of traditional Japanese culture and such. And ... of course ... my understanding IS kinda skewed by personal tastes and the like.

My tiny feedback to your possible emendations DEFInitely reflect my understanding of the culture and the art.

 

[Mycanid]

Interesting ... here is a book I just stumbled across.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/schmus/contents.html

 

[hafrogman]

Perhaps ... I, of course, interpret the translations based on what I understand of traditional Japanese culture and such. And ... of course ... my understanding IS kinda skewed by personal tastes and the like.

My tiny feedback to your possible emendations DEFInitely reflect my understanding of the culture and the art.

Fair enough. And I'm perfectly willing to accept that my interpretations are just flat out wrong. But I still feel that with the incredible length and breadth of the English language, a solution exists that preserves as much of the original meaning as possible while still maintaining the syllabic structure. I'm just not a good enough poet to tell you what the solution is

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Ahh ... obviously not gone hunting for 'em!

Seriously though ... mushrooms grow on the ground and often under things (leaves, etc.) so to have a "mushrump" as they are called catch the eye, you have to be down low and have an experienced eye - one I have not been able to develop much after all these years, admittedly.

Shorter people not only have less distance to stoop, but can crawl under branches and bushes and such after spied specimens!

Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification.