今日の俳句

梅が香


I am at a loss
To say to whom if not to you
I might show plum blossoms;
For such beauty and such fragrance
Only the best judge is a judge at all.
-Ki no Tomonori
　
梅が香にのっと日の出る山路かな
With plum blossom scent,
this sudden sun emerges
along a mountain trail

Searching storehouse eaves,
rapt in plum blossom smells,
the mosquito hums
-Matsuo Basho

Pure white plum blossoms
slowly begin to turn
the color of dawn
-Taniguchi Buson

*In the midst of this world
we stroll along the roof of hell
gawking at flowers

A flowering plum
and a nightingale's love song
he remains alone

The blossoming plum!
Today all the fires of hell
remain empty

-ISSA
　


奈良公園
*This poem is truly my favorite. The idea of hanami, "gawking at flowers", "in the midst" of the supposedly more pressing concerns of our life is so aptly gorgeous. It reminds me of a line from Kerouac's Dharma Bums when the main character Ray, having made it to the top of a mountain that he had been afraid to climb claims: "It's impossible to fall off mountains". They share the same spirit of living despite (or even because) of the absurdity of life and our frail expectations and attachments. Enjoy the change of season. And for you Kiwi/Aussie readers:
Autumn approaches
and the heart begins to dream
of four-tatami rooms
-Basho