Beads of dew, play about
From one grass leaf to another.
Hattori Ransetsu
Hattori Ransetsu (1654 – 1707) was a samurai, a haiku poet, and a follower of Matsuo Basho. He was very dedicated to Basho, and after the master’s death, he took the tonsure and became a monk.
The raging bleak wind died away,
Till it remained as the sound of the sea.
Ikenishi Gonsui (1649 – 1722)
Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We’ll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
J.R.R. Tolkien, A Walking Song from The Fellowship of the Ring
How cool are these Saga bamboos!
A picture of refreshing air!
by Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694)
What stillness! The cicadas’ voices
Penetrates the rocks.
by Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694)
Some villages have no sea-breams, no flowers;
But tonight’s moon is seen in all villages.
by Ihara Saikaku (1642 – 1693)
Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?
Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)—
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.
by Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Since my house burned down
I now have a better view
of the rising moon
– Mizuta Masahide (1657–1723)
Amid the alarming corona reports, fake news, and yes, fear and anxiety, Masahide reminds us that beauty can be found everywhere, even in challenging times. We only need to pay attention.
So, take a break from your busyness, look around, and see the world as it were new.
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