Big dog sniffing
by the veiny tulip stalks
straining to pop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the relationship between sex and enlightenment, one can do worse than look to the iconoclastic Zen monk poet Ikkyu Sojun (1394–1481). Believing that his enlightenment is deepened by sexual intercourse, he would frequent brothels in his monk’s black robe. Later in life, he fell in love with a blind singer named Mori. He could write about her in the most direct, immediate, and moving manner, as in the following poem, written originally in the Chinese 5-character style:

 

Ikkyu:          My hand resembles Mori's hand.
                    Yes, the master of loveplay,
                     she cures the jaded stem.
                    And my fellow monks rejoice.

 

Our haiku arguably transforms Ikkyu’s stem to veiny tulip stalks about to burst in bloom. Enlightenment is not gradual but sudden, so our haikuist agrees with Zen practitioners.

 

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