(3)
On plagiarism:
These observations are on the recent
abominable plagiarism drama looked at from a
very different and satirical perspective, as
we have been seeing it only from a single
point of view, i.e. utter and total
condemnation.
I condemn plagiarism just as strongly as
anybody else, or more. As it is a theft of
intellectual output and not of money or car,
it is especially loathsome. So, basically I
am completely in agreement with anybody else
that we should condemn and repulse any
plagiarist.
However, there are other ways in which one
can view the same incident. Regrettably,
haiku, as we know it at this particular
juncture, does not have the scope or
capacity to accommodate such observations as
are displayed here for experimental
purposes. If one were to present the
following as haiku, or even as senryu but to
haiku fora, one would be facing instant and
unequivocal universal condemnation and
uproar. I am only showing them here as part
of our serious study to explore the
boundaries of senryu. I am conscious of the
risk I am taking but if anyone gets offended
by these senryu please forgive me because I
am presenting them on these grounds only and
certainly not to offend.
I just want to show that senryu does provide
a platform to write such things as haiku is
not (yet) allowed to, or not able to deal
with. Herein lies one of the great
possibilities and potentials of senryu if
only we wanted it.
plagiarist pinches
the planet's plenteous poems,
pipedreaming a potpourri
a watchful eye
catches the day robbery and
tells the world
poems plagiarised:
a little-known little form called
haiku from Japan
blatant plagiarism:
making the world-haijin's already
hot blood boil!
heated uproar!
find him, expose him, kill him,
in hot pursuit
in no time at all
plagiarist hunted down
like Saddam
weapons of mass destruction,
found everywhere in the
cyberspace:
poetry websites and e-zines
Iraqi atrocities quite
forgotten,
the eyes of the whole world
focused
only on these little poems
the plagiarist detected
in a little corner of the planet...
overnight notoriety
named and shamed...
the plagiarist apparently
showing no remorse
not an Al Qaeda member,
the plagiarist transpires to be
one of us and among us
red faces, angry voices
embarrassed groans and hisses
fill this little planet of ours
and total outsiders
smelling the blood, demand the man
to be ostracised
high-minded poets,
now a blood-thirsty lynch mob...
thousands of miles away
you are either with us
or against us: an innocent
site owner capitulates
vulnerable site owners:
beware of plagiarists and troublemakers,
tighten your admission!
imitation = compliment...
plagiarism = the highest
possible accolade?
the plagiarist,
is he then the best judge
of our works?
looking closer at home,
not even plagiarised...
my poor little haiku
plagiarist—guilty,
copycat haiku poets—
not at all guilty
plagiarism:
a criminal offence—
copycat imitations:
praise-worthy acts
the plagiarist,
exposed and shame on him
heaped upon
at the unofficial court...
sentence meted out by
high-minded haiku judges
plagiarist punished
good and proper...
other haiku crimes?
what about
other haiku crimes?
what crimes?
*
(4)
nusubito wo trae-te mire ba waga ko nari
[old Japanese
senryu, Shinsen-Inu-Tsukuba-shu,
Yamazaki Sokan (~ c. 1540)]
a robber,
having apprehended him...
my own son!
* * *
On the London bomb attacks:
jibakusha wo sosa shitaraba doho yo
suicide bombers,
having investigated them...
our own countrymen!
a shoplifter, small beer
now a suicide bomber, a
big-bang bigwig,
blasted himself to heaven
two
minutes'
silence...
standing
alone at
home; a
strange
feeling
as no
one's
watching
[At
twelve
noon to
pay
respect
European-wide to
the
victims
of the
Double
Seven]
ideology
of
evil...
a
new
over-simplified
spin,
after
WMD
*
ideology
of
evil...
a
phrase
as
deadly
as
the
people
it
is
directed
to
*
evil
is
evil...
the
only
thing
that
can
conquer
it:
goodness
of
our
heart
waiting for
The Haiku Moment
that never is
(9)
seeing unexpected fortune...
the widow wipes with his will
her crocodile tears
(10)
after the laugh
stern realities return...
comedy's trick
(11)
Jehovah's witness...
never found where
disasters strike
(12)
life, ephemeral
as morning dew,
goes on and on
[Allusion ('mojiri'=parody and/or 'hineri'=twist) to Issa's well-known haiku]
(13)
away from Japan
for so long that I eat rice
with a dessert spoon
[Dessert is called pudding in England, but I'm not talking about rice pudding]
the Bush pot
calling the Al Qaeda
kettle black
