Some winter haiku by Basho. While it seldom, if ever, gets this cold in Tucson, I grew up in Chicago, and I remember those wintry days and nights, especially those in February.
the sound of the water jar
cracking on this icy night
as I lay awake
-- Basho --
the winter garden--
thinning to a thread, the moon
and an insect's singing
-- Basho --
a wintry gust--
cheeks painfully swollen,
the face of a man
-- Basho --
The haiku above are taken from Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season, edited by Gary Schmidt and Susan M. Felch.
"21
a winter shower
the pine tree is unhappy and
waiting for snow
-- Basho --
from Basho: The Complete Haiku
Thanks for this. It is some great Haiku. I live on Long Island New York and we have had a long stretch of near zero Fahrenheit temperatures. I am feeling the winter!
ReplyDeleteBrian Joseph, we've been lucky so far in Tucson--mostly 70s and 40s so far.
Deletewonderfully evocative... the second did it for me: i feel the singing wind biting my cheek and the cold exploring my fingers...
ReplyDeleteMudpuddle, yes, it's the wind that does it for me also.
DeleteBrrrr! I can relate to the sound of ice breaking in the first one. Not while I was sleeping though - I'd be buried under too many covers and the sound would be muted. But from going out with my grandpa to break the ice on the water tank for the cows.
ReplyDeletemadamevauquer, I doubt if I would have heard it either. It's the wind that most reminds me of winter.
DeleteR.T., I think it would be difficult to find beauty in winter in an urban setting--aside, maybe, from the first morning of a overnight snowfall.
ReplyDelete