Monday, November 9, 2009

Beginning with the Snail-ku

To begin, I suppose I should explain the blog title. It is a nod to Issa's famous snail-ku. My favorite translations leave the surprise for the end.

Snail slowly--
Slowly climb Mt. Fuji.

Oh, my little snail,
Slowly, ah, very slowly-
Climb up Mt. Fuji!

Like the Tortoise and the Hare, this haiku expresses that slow and steady wins the race, but I love that in this version there is no race, no competition, but instead just the self and the ultimate attainment through moving steadily in the correct direction.

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