Yosa Buson was an eighteenth century poet and painter. I like his haiku because they contain both humor and a profound spiritual sense. The poems are detached and very visual. Here are a few that are calming my very tired soul this evening:
A heavy cart rumbles by
and the peonies
quiver.
He’s on the porch,
to escape the wife and kids–
how hot it is!
Tears
for the wild geese of Shosho;
a hazy moon.
Coming back–
so many pathways
through the spring grass.
Lighting the lantern–
the yellow chrysanthemums
lose their color.
Calligraphy of geese
against the sky–
the moon seals it.
The old calendar
fills me with gratitude
like a sutra.
