This feeling of loneliness -
he plays with his building blocks
as the snow heaps up
Kubota Mantarō (1889 - 1963) was a Japanese author, playwright and Japanese poet. Although he was more interested in novels and plays, Kubota published several haiku collections and for a while was editor of the haiku magazine Shunto.
This haiku was inspired by his son, who was 3 years old at the time and always playing alone.
Haiku by Kubota Mantaro
Picture by Brandi Redd
This haiku poem is part of the Naviar haiku music challenge, where artists are invited to make music in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem. Participation is free and there are no limitations in the songs’ length or genre.
You have seven days from the posting of this haiku to submit your track. For information on how to make a submission, visit the Naviar Haiku Music Challenge page.
Submission deadline: 19th January 2022
a pandemic haiku:
‘two nurses laughing out loud / in front of the hospital / bleak sun behind clouds’