Topic: Haiku

[nichi]

Never forget:
we walk on hell,
gazing at flowers.


~Kobayashi Issa~

[nichi]

Where there are humans
You'll find flies,
And Buddhas.

~Kobayashi Issa~

[nichi]

 
Nothing in the cry
    of cicadas suggests they
are about to die
 

~Basho~
 

[nichi]

The world of dew
 is the world of dew,
 And yet, and yet –


~Kobayashi Issa~

[nichi]

No doubt about it,
the mountain cuckoo
 is a crybaby.


~Kobayashi Issa

[nichi]

All the time I pray to Buddha
I keep on
killing mosquitoes


~Kobayashi Issa

[nichi]

barn's burnt down;
now I can see
the moon

~ Masahide ~

[nichi]

The thief left it behind:
the moon
at my window

~Ryokan.

[Zamurito]

Thanks, V.

Here's a site I've always enjoyed

http://www.gardendigest.com/zen/

z

[nichi]

Thanks, Z! I have that one on my puter at home.... it's a great site!

[nichi]

nervously
through the raindrops...
spring butterfly


Kobayashi Issa

[nichi]

Come, let's go
snow-viewing
till we're buried.


Matsuo Basho
17th Century Japan

Basho took his name from the Japanese word for "banana tree." He was given a gift of a banana tree by a student and the poet immediately identified with it: the way the small tree stood there with its large, soft, fragile leaves. (See his banana plant haiku.)

Basho was probably born in 1644 in Iga Province outside of Kyoto, Japan. His father was a poor samurai-farmer.

As a teenager, Basho entered the service of the local lord, acting as a page. The young lord was only a couple of years older than Basho, and the two became friends, enjoying the playful exchange of haiku verses.

When Basho was a young man, his friend and lord died and the lord's brother took over the clan. In reaction, Basho left home, abandoned his samurai status, and took to a life of wandering.

After several years, he settled in Edo (Tokyo), continuing to write and publish poetry. His haiku began to attract attention. Students started to gather around Basho. At about this time, Basho also took up Zen meditation.

Basho remained restless, even in his fame. A neighborhood fire claimed his small house in Edo leaving him homeless, and Basho once again took up the itinerant life, visiting friends and disciples, taking up residence for brief periods only to begin another journey. It was during this time that Basho composed some of his greatest haiku.

Basho returned to Edo in 1691 and died there in 1694.
~Ivan Granger

www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com

[Nichi]

forgiving each other
with only a look --
wisteria in the rain

~Mitsu Suzuki

[Nichi]

A lovely thing to see:
through the paper window's hole,
the Galaxy.

-- Issa

[Nichi]

strength
   says the standing stone
     (that no longer exists)

Gabriel Rosenstock