cry of a gull
on a cloud’s edge…
spring deepens
Comment: a suggestive haiku, where the cry of a gull (kamome no koe 鴎の声) seems to come from far away –even from the clouds– breaking the silence (shizukesa 静けさ) and making the poet realize that spring has reached its full maturity. The ‘edge’ (hashi 端) at the end of line 2 may indeed represent the dividing (time) line between spring and summer, that is smoothed by the use of the ellipsis serving as a kireji 切れ字. Note the soft and ‘comforting’ alliteration of the ‘l’ sound in the first ku, in particular in the words ‘gull’ and ‘cloud’, and the prolonged ‘e’ vowel in ‘deepens’, which helps to give a sense of extension to the final scene.
