Author: brenda
slightly bent…
a lotus stem-
slightly bent-
apt emblem
of this world ~Issa (The Year of My Life, Trans: N Yuasa)
wpc: it is easy being green!
The first dream of the year –
I kept it a secret
and smiled to myself ~Sho-U
If I were…
If I were the emperor
of a deserted island
it would be nice. ~Soseki
winter’s slumber
model 1951
Oh butterfly
What are you dreaming of
When you move your wings ~Chiyo-Ni
enlightenment
Inhale, exhale
Forward, back
Living, dying:
Arrows, let flow each to each
Meet midway and slice
The void in aimless flight-
Thus I return to the source ~Gesshu Soko
Hoffmann (Japanese Death Poems, p. 97) notes that within this poem the arrows after hitting in midair do not fall to the ground, but continue in directionless flight through empty space. He further states that the image within this poem tells of a state of consciousness in which the concept of the ordinary mind forming one’s outlook on the world have vanished and polarities (good-bad, life-death) are embraced in an enlightened being.
wpc: wish
If it were my Wish
To pick the white chrysanthemums,
Puzzled by the frost
Of the early autumn time,
I by chance might pluck the flower.
~Oshikochi no Mitsume
I wonder…
I wonder where
the winds of spring
drive the snow clouds
swinging
Forth
From the bush
Beautiful and bright-
A butterfly!
~Issa (Trans: N Yuasa, The Year of My Life)
life’s journey
While I walk on
the moon keeps pace beside me
friend in the water
~Masshide (Yoel Hoffmann, Japanese Death Poems)
black & white sunday: after and before
A bamboo sprout
Picked too soon-
It would bloom in glory
But for man
~Issa (trans: N Yuasa: The Year of My Life)
In the above haiku, Issa has written about imaginary blossoms. Yuasa notes that bamboo sprouts are harvested when they are young and soft and that they bear no flowers even if they are left to grow. After: “alternative facts” Before: “imaginary blossoms”
rock climbing
Many paths lead
from the foot of the mountain,
But at the peak
We all gaze at the
Single bright moon.
~Ikkyu Sojun
a meditative journey 
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