Giuseppe Insana - 墨白

Venice at new year in her eyes island and sun first sunset gazing

À Sai. January 2002

Colours of a Welsh bay

dal rosa al malva riflessi di un gabbiano lento tramonto

from pink shades to mauve reflections of a seagull in a slow sunset

October 2001

Sitting by the bay in Wales

wish you were sharing comfortable loneliness lazy coloured waves

l'avresti amata dolce solitudine onde dipinte

October 2001

Tramonto dietro a Lipari
Sunset behind Lipari island

spicchio di sole; un grande arcobaleno l'intero cielo

the last slice of sun; the entire sky becomes a big big rainbow

August 2001

Sarò rosso cupo, tu bianca e risplendente
Dark red me, shiny white you

guardiamo la luna - stanotte ci vedrai il mio volto riflesso ed io vedrò il tuo

watch the moon tonight you'll see my reflected face and I will see yours

June 2001

Notte ventosa Di un rotondobaleno la luna e' vestita

In the fullmoon night raptured by show in the sky Round rainbow through clouds

Heidelberg (Germany) - November 2000
The breathtaking experience of a moon rainbow.

vincere potrei per un sorriso di donna mille battaglie

montagna d'ombra l'eruzione notturna uccide una stella

Stromboli (Sicilia) - Agosto 2000

riemergo a veder da bellezze subacquee fanciulla al sole

sopra lo scoglio osservo immenso mare colpir la roccia

cielo e albero steso sul tuo respiro stella, non-stella

Sofia (Bulgaria)

onde al tramonto rimbocca le sirene il mare lenzuolo

Varna (Bulgaria), the Black Sea.

Sourire dans le mot gagner la couleur du blé pour souffrir doucement

À filfille Anja. Cambridge.

I knew no mornings, lost in my love for the night: happy to be wrong.

À Xiao Rui, Morning Blossom. Cambridge.

Sole in eclissi: la luna lo nasconde e lui sorride

Total eclipse: the moon is hiding the sun the sun is smiling

Tihany (Balaton), Hungary - 1999 August 11th - Total eclipse

The laughter shines me and my friend from afar shake hands

La bocca e' chiusa ma le labbra sorridono: ti desidero

Je ne souffle pas de mot mais ma bouche... elle sourit parce que tu me plais et je te désire

Verona

Dolce e infedele fragile falsa luna mordo il tuo seno.

Sweet and unfaithful fragile false moon I bite your breast.

À Claire Farothel
The defection of the soul
My last words to her

(when the haiku commentary becomes a meta-haiku)

Oh, so sweet was she gleaming in the full moon's rays, slowly we made love.

Nuvole splendono in oro, poi porpora; sorrido al tramonto.

The clouds shine first in gold, then in purple; I smile at sunset.

Giacchiato - Iced

La candela in mano mi consegno alla fiamma ma tremo dal freddo.

Keeping the candle I withdraw to the flame but shiver from cold.

Verona

Leggendo al sole - Reading under the sun

Il vento mi risveglia: impaziente di leggere gira le pagine.

The wind awakens me: he cannot wait to read on and so turns the pages.

La Pioggia e il Vento - The Rain and the Wind

Ti penso e mi sorridi, contornata dal sogno, tra gli alberi in tempesta.

Enveloped by dreams I think to you, you smile to me between trees in the storm.

Silent Farewell - Silenzioso Addio

And you wave me bye with your tiny white hand, sweet carillon doll.

Mi saluti con un gesto della tua bianca piccola mano, dolce bambola del carillon.

Padova

Partita a WeiQi - A match of Go

Ci alziamo da terra, la sfida e' conclusa; il sole ha scaldato le pedine nere.

We stand up from the floor, the sun has warmed the black stones after a game of Go.

Arabian dreams

Seven chariots for seven gates of wonder, in the silent night.

Have I got a little story for you

Dear friend listen how we met at the gloomy pub: lips smiled, lips kissed.

Soothing Sun

Steso sull'erba, accarezzo le note della kalimba.

Lying on the grass, I fondle the notes of my kalimba.

Nel mattino di sole qualcosa di profumato: il nostro amore.

In the sunny morning something scented: our love.

Dolore e ricordo. Bloccato a letto sogno: una corsa tra i prati.

Pain and memories. Forced in bed I dream: a dash through the meadows.

Broken legs. Bed. Wheelchair. Crutches.
Dreaming....

Leggendo Haiku

Rileggere i maestri cercando la penna: voglia di poesia.

She came

She came to see the house, but we forgot... in a thousand kisses.

Furuike ya: brividi in parole per la mia schiena.

Furuike ya: shivers in syllables down my spine.

The poem was inspired by the first reading in Japanese of probably the most famous haiku by the most famous haijin, MATSUO BASHO (alias Jinshichiro, 1644-1694):

Furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

that translates into:

Il vecchio stagno! la rana salta tonfo dell'acqua

An old pond; a frog jumps in-- the sound of water.

Nude girl

The peach is bruised, on her right cheek.

The first one, written in the realm of Morpheus, the dream world.

Haiku

Haiku is a contemplative, unrhymed Japanese poem that attempts to chronicle the essence of a moment in which nature is linked to human life. It is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. A well-written haiku creates tension between contrasting elements such as movement and inactivity, change and continuance, time and timelessness, nature and humanity. Most haiku poems contain themes that are simple to understand but give the reader new insight into a well-known experience or situation.

A great Japanese master of haiku was Matsuo Basho.

Three general guidelines govern haiku writing in Japanese. These guidelines are:
The poem consists of 17 sound units in a 5, 7, 5 pattern.
The poem should indicate through a kigo, a season word, the time of year. Often the kigo is not obvious.
The poem contains a "cutting" or division between two contrasting parts.

Phil Adams named them, wonderfully, "seductive bullets":

She loves these poems,
Word pictures, so clear, so sharp:
Seductive bullets.

My favourite Zen haiku:

Rain clouds gathering.
The scurrying geisha girl,
the smiling farmer.

In the following pages, or from the bullet links below, a collection of Haiku written by me.

SUMMER:

o o o o o o o o o o o

AUTUMN:

o o o

UNSEAS:

o o o o o o o o o o o

WINTER:

o o o

SPRING:

o o o o o o