Category: fractured haiku

At the Gym

Late in December at the gym, jogging around the track, trying to remember that one I was young.

I have outlived Matsuo Basho now for quite a few years. Eating well, lifting weights, writing poetry is my secret to success.

One is lifting weights

Grunting, barely holding on

Sadly, getting older

.

Those who are younger

Daily are getting stronger

And looking better

.

The weight of the world

Grows and grows all the time

Troubling one’s mind

.

Like Sisyphus one keeps at it. Like Basho one wanders from time to time.

Somebody farted

Variations on a fart by a smart feller. things not said in polite company.

Somebody farted,

Was it wind or a whisper?

Friends soon departed

.

Somebody farted

Hearing a sigh feeling a breeze ,

The room held its breath

.

Somebody farted

A cloud of mystery lingered

As I departed

.

Matsuo Basho ate radishes both because they were plentiful and because he had stomach problems for most of his life. No doubt he passed gas in polite company, but it was never mentioned.

Partially puzzled

Matsuo Basho statue

From the fractured haiku collection.
On the anniversary of Matsuo Bashō’s death,
November 28, 2025

partially puzzled,
and warily wondering
what Bashō would think…

The last line could be changed to say, “Would Bashō approve…” But sadly, he’s not here to say.

RIP: Matsuo Bashō, master of the haiku, who died surrounded by friends, November 28, 1694 (age 50 years), Osaka, Japan