“Winter solitude — / in a world of one color / the sound of wind” ―Matsuo Bashō

Frog backflips
A freezing wind whips
Pond ice chips

“First snow
falling
on the half-finished bridge”
―Matsuo Bashō

Urns in tiers
Cheer for grieving heirs
Pioneer

“Awake at night–
the sound of the water jar
cracking in the cold”
―Matsuo Bashō

Through the veil
Gross microwaves snail
Ghosts got mail

“A snowy morning–
by myself,
chewing on dried salmon”
―Matsuo Bashō

Noble lords
Spirits out of gourds
Mazda Fords

“Bitter–tasting ice —
Just enough to wet the throat
Of a sewer rat”
―Matsuo Bashō

Shadow plays
Whale-blubber lamp sways
Anime

“Winter rain
falls on the cow-shed;
a cock crows”
―Matsuo Bashō

Emperors
 Jedi lightsabers
Atemporal

“You make the fire
and I’ll show you something wonderful:
a big ball of snow!”
―Matsuo Bashō

Mountain fumes
Olympian gloom
Curling broom

“Waking in the night;
the lamp is low,
the oil freezing”
―Matsuo Bashō

The frog jumps
The frozen pond bumps
Bashō trumps

“Winter garden,
the moon thinned to a thread,
insects singing”
―Matsuo Bashō

Thus concludes a trilogy of posts quoting Bashō’s poetry. In 1686, Bashō’s “Frog” haiku (quoted, among others, in the first post*) made a triumphal splash in Edo, still echoing today. Those quoted in this post, characterize our local environment’s meteorological conditions, during the incubation of the picture poetry.

Cartoon of Matsuo Bashō (evidently clad for wintry climes): mypoeticside.com

*Countless translations of the Frog haiku are extant. Possibly the shortest–Pond/Frog/Plop, by James Kirkup–is one of some 30 poets’ translations, plus a definitive commentary on the original, by Robert Aitken, preserved on http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/basho-frog.htm

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