PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

They tell me that the great Haiku Poet, Shiki (October 14, 1867--September 19, 1902), was bedridden in 1897, and in 1901 was wracked constantly and consistently by enormous pain; yet he continued to produce Haiku, and to raise the standard of Haiku in Japan to the high levels it enjoys today.  Although I prefer the form of Tanka to Haiku---I am too verbose for three lines and their seventeen syllables---I admire Shiki's achievement as the Poet and the human being that he was.