gleaming Milky Way —
the sleeves of her
evening dress
Comment: a vibrant, vivid ku 句 that juxtaposes the glimmers of our galaxy during a clear night with the glitter of the poet’s evening dress. The Milky Way (amanogawa 天の川), according to the Japanese lunar calendar, is inextricably linked to the Tanabata Festival 七夕 and it’s therefore considered an early autumn kigo 季語. The em dash (—) placed at the end of line 1 –which serves as a cutting mark (kireji 切れ字)– marks the time in which the protagonist’s gaze shifts from sky to earth, revealing an original and genuine moment of revelation, ie a true ‘haiku moment’.
