On Basho's Narrow Road... (Narrow Road Signs I)

After the wave,
Tohoku's future
Enshrouded in mist.

Pine-thrown shadows
All that remains
Of poet's muse.

At Shitomae,
Reflections of ourselves
Passing through time.

Cluster of itabi

Huddle in the shady grove;

Respite from the heat.

Below Natagiri Pass

Young ferns practice their yoga

In the morning sun.

 

On the narrow road,
Sharing with Basho,
Weary calves.

Creaking of frogs

Fills the emptiness

In the priest's chant.

Cry of the cuckoo

A tattoo on the mokugyo;

Sacred Haguro.

As city dwellers

Complain of the heat,

Tohoku farmers

Plant rice.

Cool on a summer day;
Shadow of a swallow's wings
Flutters in the dust.

On the turntable:  Joe Ely, " The Best of Joe Ely"
On the nighttable;  Lesley Downer, "On the Narrow Road"