***
One of the distinctive features of the haiku genre is the reader's involvement in the creative process. Whatever the author (or haijin if we use the common terminology) wanted to convey, the reader always interprets in his or her own way, not necessarily in the same way the author hoped for. It's a total waste of time to read haiku without using one's imagination as it is boring and sometimes confusing. Things we all learnt in the secondary school about the Western poetry, about the so-called "civil duty" of the poet, or at least about his or her own views and opinions that are often forced upon the readers, are not applicable to haiku. Haijin says very little (how much can you squeeze into two or three lines?), the rest is left to the reader.

kitchen clock
a long stare
into the garden's darkness
(Leonid Popov)

What is so special about this haiku, one could wonder? It's quite an ordinary scene - a man standing in front of the window with the curtains open, pitch-black outside, just the reflection of the kitchen clock on the wall. That's it. Next. On the other hand, one can use his or her imagination and create a scene according to one's own taste. For example:
"... how silly, a storm in a tea cup, we told each other stuff we would regret later, she slammed the door and left...how bitter is this cold coffee, the smoke from the ashtray rising to the open window pane... so dark outside, only the headlights flash from time to time... shall I press my forehead against the glass?... it's so cool and neutral... right here, against this old, backwards going kitchen clock... can't take it back, can't turn the time backwards... silly, it's all silly... as usual, the minutes pass... another "killed" evening... on the spot..."

***
emptying
the pockets of the old jacket
it must have been happiness
(Julia Voronkova)

"damn, where are these bloody keys?... a hole in the lining, the keys should be there, slipped to the back...need to take it off, otherwise can't reach them...the yobs graffitied the wall again...why did he start...I did not mean it...well, it's all right, there are other fish in the sea...they did tell me that there is nothing special about him... what's that?... faded piece of paper... need to get it closer to the light... cinema tickets... ah, it was in May - we went to cinema with him...the evening was so wonderful, so warm... that little cafe' on the embankment... we nearly missed the beginning of the show... how great it used to be..."
We get a slightly rusificated version of the fight. Those who read H. Murakami, can also find a lot of restrained oriental psychologism, loneliness among the people and many other things. One can also see it from the Hemingway point of view - with a fair dose of alcohol and dwelling on the past. It's up to the reader.

Two haiku by two different authors. They seem to be about different things, but I decided to create a little movie out of them. Three lines + three lines now become parts of one plot, share emotions and characters. Thank you, haijins!

= Translated by the ULITKA =