once upon a zen

[revolutionR]

I was quiet once
in Big Sur
I was on a slope

forest fire had done
it was like being on Mars
I was digging a ditch

and I looked out to the sea

[the mingo]

Finally ! Something for the teeth ! Just in the nick-of-time too because everybody is way too busy with prayer in Jerusalem these days - Whoa ! (Wiping sweat from brow)

[revolutionR]

I like this Basho

Year's end

Year's end, all
corners of this
floating world, swept

a whole book in there

[saw]

[WIREMAN]

Basho's the bomb!

[revolutionR]

I read that Japanese is difficult to learn
my sense of the haiku is the sense
of the Japanese language comes through

the language that shows how they think
the sense they have of life that the
Haiku masters sought to convey

I did not learn French but I am half French
and I was very attracted to French poetry
my poet friend mentor could translate
French and Spanish poetry

and he found lots of that poetry
in the university library to translate
so I kinda got a feeling how he chose
one word over another

like the difference of different translators
can make or break it for you

[revolutionR]

I really think that Basho poem
conveys a whole sense of a whole sense
of some comment on some situation
that had happened, or was about to happen
maybe almost a secret comment
on stuff that was going on at the time
almost to set things right

maybe I'm reading into it, but
I have a feeling that haiku was
social commentary couched
in natural language

if you really studied Basho and his times
I think do to certain taboos and cultural
norms, the poets found ways to be creative
with very subtle ways, which is the fine
sense of the language within a certain
structure