Basho Revisited, lost from its nest

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Basho often used the technique of giving himself an animal or bird's name to describe his own situation instead of using a personal pronoun or referring to himself as author of the verse. Feeling old, and perhaps somewhat ill, and always traveling from place to place, it is easy to see how Basho may have been describing himself as well as making a comment about a natural phenomenon.

It wasn't common to mention the haiku poet in his own haiku. It was just not done as the poet mentioned himself in his haiku, but as Basho did in the following haiku, he took the 'form' of a plover crying because he has lost his nest. Basho, also somewhere called 'the traveling poet', had no own house or something like that. He didn't need that because he was always on a journey.

yami no yo ya   su wo madowashi   naku chidori

darkness of night
lost from its nest
a plover cries

This is a not so well known haiku by Basho, but it's one of the better ones I think. One can visualize the painting. It's dark. A plover cries because it can not find its nest. Maybe the plover in this haiku was a young one.
Basho was lost and had no home of his own. So he was very sad and feels lost in the darkness of the night. Also a possible reason for the 'color' of this haiku can be that Basho was ill and lays in his bed without help or friends around him. He wrote this haiku in Spring 1692, two years before he died.

Can I write a haiku in the same sense and tone as Basho's one?

the cry of a bird
resonates through the night
has it lost his nest?

Not bad I think. It's in the same sense and tone as the one by master Basho.

See you next time,

Basho Revisited, Red Pepper

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Maybe you know the parable of the mustard seed told by the Christ. A mustard seed is a very tiny seed, but it grows to a very large tree. In the parable Christ means that the smallest seed of belief can grow to the greatness of believing.
There are more tiny seeds that grow to be a great plant or tree. In the following haiku the tiny seed of the Red Pepper is the theme.

Red Chili Pepper

kono tane to   omoi konasa ji   togarashi


such a tiny seed
yet not to be underrated
red pepper

It's a wonderfully crafted haiku. Such a tiny seed as that of the red pepper described and honored in the shortest verse of the world. This is what haiku means. A tiny verse, the greatest of poetry. I love this very much. A few words with a great meaning.

a mustard seed
to grow a shaded place
in the backyard

Awesome! Such a tiny seed that creates a shaded place in the backyard. Certainly a haiku in the Spirit of Basho.

Sincerely,

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Basho Revisited, before I leave

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When travelers stayed in a temple, they were expected to perform some work like sweeping out their rooms and or sweeping up the garden or make a payment in some kind. Basho was now alone, because Sora had traveled on ahead of him. When Basho went to leave the temple, some monks stopped him by asking for the payment of at least a poem. Sora had stayed the night before in the same temple and had left the following verse for Basho.

yomosugara   aki kaze kiku ya   ura no yama


all night long
hearing autumn winds
in the mountain behind

One wonders if 'the mountain behind' was Basho, and if he 'autumn winds' were Basho's cold feelings. It is easy to see, how on a journey of this length (2400 km) two friends could get very tired of each other.
The following haiku by Basho, he wrote as a payment for his stay at the temple.

niwa hou te   ide baya tera ni   chiru yanagi


to sweep the garden
before I leave
falling willow leaves

A wonderful haiku I think. I love this verse and I have written the next one. I hope that my haiku will be in the same tone and sense as Basho's.

tears in my eyes
I give Honeysuckle blossom
when I leave

In 'My Narrow Road' I have used some of the traditions as they were used in ancient Japan. This verse I wrote for friends as payment for staying at their home.
It's for sure in Chevrefeuille's Spirit and I think ... also in the Spirit of Basho.

Another one also from 'My Narrow Road'.

a bound verse (*)
farewell gift for my host
and blossom petals

(*) a renga was also called a 'bound verse'.

This one I wrote for the host of a bed & breakfast in Nikko.

Sora and Basho

Sincerely,

Basho revisited, sea of summer

While Basho was on his 'Narrow Road' he also visited Matsushima. According to many sources, old and new ones, Matsushima is the most beautiful and spectacular place in Japan. Since olden times, it has been depicted in poetry and pictures by many poets and artists. Even I, a simple and humble haiku poet from The Netherlands, have written about Matsushima without seeing it for real. I only know Matsushima from stories, poems and pictures. And I can say Matsushima cannot be hold in any poem, story of picture. It's a beautiful place and has an expanse of about 12 km of sea, where there are many islands in various shapes, as if designed and carved artistically by God Himself. Each island is covered with pine trees and its beauty is beyond description.
Matsushima must be really Paradise. Basho wrote the following haiku:

shi majima ya   chiji ni kudaki te   natsu no umi


many islands
broken into pieces
sea of summer

This leaves me in awe. What a picture, what a wonderful place to be. Maybe ... just maybe I will be allowed to see it with my own eyes.

Writing a haiku myself about Matsushima ... I think it isn't possible, but I have to try.

Matsushima
indescribable
tears in my eyes


Matsushima
beyond description
tears in my eyes

Matsushima

tears in my eyes
I cannot find the words to describe
Matsushima


covered with pine
the place of my dreams
Matsushima


crafted by God
this wonderful piece of Japan
Matsushima

Well ... I thought I couldn't find the words to describe Matsushima, but I did it ...and still Matsushima leaves me in awe.

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