Friday, February 3, 2012

Basho Revisited, wings of a butterfly

I love butterflies, they're so fragile and I find them very beautiful. However I didn't write a lot of haiku about butterflies. I don't know why, but it could be a lack of inspiration.
In this series I have used a haiku by Basho in the episode orchid fragrance which he wrote for a woman named Butterfly when he was asked for.

ran no ka ya   cho no tusubasa ni   takimono su


orchid fragrance
from the butterfly's wings
scenting the clothes

In that episode I didn't gave a new haiku, but an old one that I once wrote for a friend. So I will write a new haiku right now inspired by the above one.

in the Buddleia
fluttering of fragile wings
waving on the wind

Another one:

waving on the wind
butterflies resting in the sun
on the Buddleia

Credits: Butterfly on the Buddleia
Back to this episode. In this episode I will look at a few haiku by Basho  in which he used butterfly as season word. (A season word is particular for one of the seasons, butterfly is a season word for summer).

cho no ha no   ikutabi koyuru   hei no yane


wings of a butterfly
how many times do they flutter
over roof and wall


kimi ya cho   ware ya Soji ga   yume gokoro


you are butterfly?
I am Chuang-tzu's
dreaming heart

Chuang-tzu is a well known classical author of China and Basho wrote this one for one of his friends named Dosui who was an enthusiastic reader of Chuang-tzu's work. According to Jane Reichhold however this one is an unconfirmed haiku by Basho.

Another butterfly haiku:

cho mo ki te   su wo suu kiku no   namasu kana


a butterfly also comes
to sip the vinegar from mums (*)
and pickles

(*) mums is short for Chrysanthemums

Credits: Butterfly on Chrysanthemum

With this one came a preface: 'While I was staying in Awazu, a man who liked tea ceremony very much, invited me and served vinegar boiled chrysanthemum flowers picked from a nearby beach'. He wrote this one for his host, a physician.

okiyo okiyo   waga tomo ni se n   nuru ko cho


wake up wake up
I want you for a friend
sleeping butterfly

This one is discussed by several authorities and they came to the conclusion that this one must be seen in relationship to the famous story of Chuang-tzu who dreamed he was a butterfly and then wondered which was real, his dream or his life as a human. (Source: Jane Reichhold's Old Pond: Basho's (almost) thousand haiku).
Others say that this haiku refers to one of Basho's (male) lovers. The truth will stay in the middle I think.

A last example of haiku on butterflies by Basho:

cho no tobu   bakari nonaka no   hikage kana


a butterfly flies
only in the field
of sunshine

What an awesome picture. A tiny butterfly dances in the wide field in the light of the sun.

Because I love the butterfly haiku by Basho. I will give another example. This is an impromptu verse.

monozuki ya   niowa nu kasa ni   tomaru cho


how curious
on grass without fragrance
perches a butterfly

Well ... I rest my case :-) All wonderful haiku by Basho about butterflies. To write myself a new one in the Spirit of Basho will not be easy, but ... I have to do what I have to do.

the cobweb scattered
by the fluttering of wings
a blue butterfly


on the verandah
a yellowish butterfly
the light of sun down




Butterflies ... I love those tiny creatures, so fragile and yet so strong. I bow my head and thank the Gods for the butterflies.

Sincerely, 'till next time.

Also published for: Haiku my Heart









Thanks for passing by :-)

9 comments:

  1. Breathtaking picture of the butterfly. I too am very fond of the butterfly, not only for its beauty but also for its symbol of renewed life!!! Thank you! Cathy

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  2. Awesome photos ~ wonderful haiku and most informative post ~ Basho haiku quite 'over the top' ~ you do well to compete with Basho ~ I am still learning and reading about haiku ~namaste, carol (A Creative Harbor) Happy HMH

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  3. wow, Wow, WOW!
    All of it so beautiful♥♥♥

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  4. you are a treasure trove of haiku and butterflies.
    thank you for such tangible grace.

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  5. Thanks! You all make me blush ... and proud on who I am, just a humble haiku poet.

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  6. I do like how you take your inspiration from the haiku masters and give your own twist to the words. Keep writing!

    Whirling Haiku and Senryu

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    1. Thank you so much Magical Mystical Teacher for these nice words. I love the haiku by the classical masters, but Basho is for me the best.
      I can only hope to become as good as Basho. My inspirational haiku on the ones by Basho are just ... humbly written and I hope to write them in the Spirit of Basho.

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  7. What a wonderful blog you have here . All of your haiku impresses me so. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.

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    1. You make me blush Ellecee. I love the haiku by Basho and he is a real inspiration to me. Thank you for visiting.

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