Busn & Issa Poems

Roots of the camphor tree
quietly moistened
by the winter showers

-Buson

I really loved the imagery in this poem and the soft, muted feelings it seemed to express. In the poem there are a lot of very mellow aspects; the rain has come only in the form of showers, we can see that the winter is not as cold as it could be due to the fact that it is raining, the roots are only being moistened, and even the camphor tree, which is large and distinctive, seems subdued; the only part described is its roots, a common aspect to every tree. Together, these images come together to create a very hushed setting; I can imagine a quiet forest, set apart from any hustle and bustle. The images themselves are also really appealing to me, I always find it really beautiful when the bark of trees and the ground around them are darkened by the rain, and I also find the quietly moistening rain to be quite pleasing.


Melting snow
and the village overflowing
with children

-Issa

To me, the wordplay in this poem was pretty clever. The way the poem transitions from melting snow, to the village overflowing with the out pour of children was both a smooth transition from the changes in nature to the changes in people, and a great way to really develop the image of children flooding out into the street, as my mind was already ready to picture water from the snow melt rushing out into the village. The mood of the poem is also appealing to me, as it really seems to capture well that lightening of the spirits coming from the end of winter. Children also go well with the beginnings of a new year, as they are relatively new themselves. Overall, I just felt that this poem provided a great flow and representation of this time of year.

Exhausted,
time to find a lodging-
hanging wisteria

Basho

I thought this haiku really moved well from the feeling of oppressive tiredness to that of peaceful relaxation. We see that the speaker is exhausted, and in need of lodging, giving the sense perhaps that they are a traveler and have walked a great distance, now too weary to go further. It then ends with the image of hanging wisteria, progressing from walking, so slowing to find a place to rest, and finally stopping on the peaceful image of dangling flowers, from which one might imagine that after long traveling, a well deserved resting place has been reached.

The holy mirror,
repolished, is also pure-
blossoms of snow.

Basho

In this haiku there is lots of beautiful imagery and also symbolism. It gives the image of a holy mirror, one that has had to have been repolished. This suggests that the mirror has become tainted or dirty, impure. It is reminiscent of how someone pure may sin. However, we see that something tainted does not have to stay that way, as the mirror can be repolished, returning to its orginal pure state, and suggesting that humans can do the same. This reborn purity is reinforced by the last line which cites 'blossoms of snow', creating an image of newly fallen, white snow. The white can be also connected back to the mirror to create a moon-like image, white and circular, which would again suggest holy purity.

Taking a midday nap
feet planted
on a cool wall

Basho

I quite liked this haiku because it really made me think of peaceful summer naps. Midday suggests warmth, and perhaps a bit of lazyness, as one is stopping whatever they have been doing to take a nap in the middle of the day. The feet are planted on a cool wall, again adding to the sense of warmth and lazy relief, as hot feet are cooled down and lifted from having to support the body as it carried out its daily tasks. The fact that the wall is cool also gives a sense of peacefulness, as it shows that the person napping will not be so warm as to be uncomfortable. Overall, it made me want to take a nap myself, haha.