Friday, July 31, 2026
Walking to the corner bookstore in 100 degree weather… composing haiku.
Five-Seven-Five
Five-Seven-Five
I wish I knew why – Haiku
Makes no sense at all
Sipping hot coffee
In the middle of summer
Makes no sense at all
Ladies in bookstores
Well read, and so attractive
Often wear glasses
Forgive me if this is not PC — author’s confession
Summer Cicadas
When the sun rises, Summer cicadas are mechanical, persistent, inescapable, until the sun sets.
Like an alarm clock,
Try as I might, I can’t stop.
— Cicadas crying
To Matsuo Bashō the voice of a cicada is quite profound.
静けさや
岩にしみ入る
蝉の声
Shizukesa ya
Iwa ni shimiiru
Semi no koe
Ah, such stillness—
The sound of a cicada
sinks into the rocks.
To be a bee, yes
One must wish upon a star
To be a bee, no less
.
Why choose to be a bee
Why not something else —
A butterfly perhaps?
I am in a funk
I thought I could — haiku
No I can’t, can you?
…
When Zen was new,
Who knew
— Haiku?
…
When Zen was new
A frog jumped
And made a Splash
…
An empty cup,
no bread, no wine,
you split
I have been struggling
Struggling to write a haiku
Confounded I am
.
Confounded I am
Like a cricket in the rain
Cold and alone!
Only yesterday. Matsuo Basho did not do much thinking back. I wonder why.
a ’57 Chevy
purple and tan, I wish it were red.
a summer’s day
School’s out, the sun is hot,
counting cows, license plates from other states,
a book served as the internet.
A loaf of bread,
bologna, cheese, mustard and a pickle
Mom made lunch for us,
Ah, the Good old days,
hearty laughter, wind and dust,
as I remember it.
[A rough draft, but you know how these things are. The road stretches out, it keeps calling. When will we ever go back. ‘Tis true tis sad. How Dao. Tis true.]
In the summer of 1690, Matsuo Basho was 56 years old, staying at the “Unreal Hut” (幻獣庵 Genju-an) beside Lake Biwa near Otsu. He had just completed his long journey that one day would day become, “Oku no Hosomichi” (Journey to the Far North).
all that I see will soon die,
but one finds no sign
in the voice of the cicada
.
やがて死ぬ けしきは見えず 蝉の声
Yagate shinu keshiki wa miezu semi no koe
Matsuo Basho, Summer of 1690
Basho added this note to the haiku, “無常迅速.”
Impermanence is swift
無常迅速
Mujōjinsoku
An English equivalent, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” Like a cicada, adopt a devil-may-care attitude, don’t worry.
This phrase often appears as 生死事大 無常迅速, (Shōshijidai Mujōjinsoku) meaning living and dying are matters of importance, impermanence is swift.
An English equivalent, “Make the most of your life.”
Note. Those noisy cicadas 蝉 are a bane to those who love silence, but a treat for hungry birds. Patience, dear friend, most of them are gone by the middle of July.
matsuo-basho-haiku 