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.