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5/9/12
Haiku Project
I wanted my project to have something to do with my major, Philosophy, so I decided to write a sequence of haiku aligning with the philosophy of Nietzsche, as described in his work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Nietzsche’s work inspired the musical composition "Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" by Richard Wagner, which has 9 movements, each named after chapters of Nietzsche’s philosophical work. I wrote haiku starting with Zarathustra’s symbolic descent from his home in the mountains, and a series of haiku that embody his concept of the overman and struggle, accompanied by some original photos.
Thus Spake Zarathustra Prologue—Inspired Haiku
by Wanda June
ash in the valley
bright sky overhead
Zarathustra descends
a cup overflowing
the gold water
reflecting the sun
to the old man
he speaks—
“God is Dead”
the busy marketplace
at the end of the forest
buzzing with people
in the ebbing tide
we are more beast
than human
a polluted stream
all life
begins to decay
a crowd watches
the tight rope walker
slowly f
a
l
l
lighting from
the dark cloud—
gives me strength
the woman blinks
not hearing
a single word
a prophet sitting
by a fallen man
a cool breeze
bread and wine
my neighbor’s offer
of peace
man sleeping
in a hollow tree
howling of wolves
a long sleep
his eyes open
to the still morning
the bird’s call
echoing through
the wooded clearing
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