Saturday, February 25, 2023

Poetic Musings: Farewell Haiku by Banzan

farewell --
I pass as all things
the dew on grass

Haiku Mind, 2008 

Banzan

Commentary: Basho's contemporary Banzan (1661–1730) wrote this haiku on the brink of his death in the Japanese tradition of jisei (death poems). The juxtaposition of good wishes on parting and death just as common or trivial? as all things, such as the dew on grass is not only thought-provoking but also shows the speaker's courageous way to love and to die. His reflective haiku echoes one of the most memorable sayings from the Lakota tribe: "Today is a good day to die, hoka-hey (all is completed)."

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