The Daily Poem Robert Hass' "After the Gentle Poet Kobayashi Issa"
Nov 12, 2025
Explore the nuances of haiku as a mood rather than a strict proposition. The discussion highlights a New Year's morning haiku, contrasting beauty with feelings of ambivalence. Delve into the notion of finding joy in middle age, as reflections on turning fifty consider life as grace and abundance. Finally, brace for the evocative imagery in the poem's 'hell' section, culminating in a full reading that encourages listeners to connect deeply with the text.
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Haiku As Mood, Not Argument
- Haiku communicates mood more than propositions, striking the listener viscerally rather than rationally.
- Robert Haas's sequence mixes wonder and wry detachment to reveal emotional complexity in simple images.
Half-Enchanted New Year's
- Sean imagines a speaker only half-enchanted by New Year's blossoms, suggesting a relatable human ambivalence.
- He speculates the speaker might have been at a festive party, grounding the haiku in everyday life.
Middle Age As Grace
- The 50th-birthday haiku reframes middle age as a time of surplus and grace rather than decline.
- Sean calls this a shift to 'everything is gravy,' seeing later life as cumulative gain.