tabi ni yande yume wa kareno wo kake-meguruThis is Basho's death poem a jisei. This was a Japanese tradition among literate people, especially Samurai and Zen Buddhist monks, in the past, though it's not an exclusive characteristic of the Japanese, the Koreans and Chinese did the same and some have reached us from the past.
ill on a journey
my dreams start to wander
across dessicated fields
© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)
I think it's a beautiful tradition, and though I'm not near death, in the classical sense, this is the passing of a wonderful month of haiku inspiration, so I'll write a symbolic jisei for the occasion:
© G.s.k. '14
It was a wonderful month wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteGreat photo and haiku Georgia :)
Thanks Jen ... yes really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Georgia what a nicely written Jisei ... I wonder ... did you write it for yourself of for a loved one? It's really a nice one.
ReplyDeleteIt was written for myself ... I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Delete