Wedded Rocks

soft wrinkles of waves
ocean’s treasure wrapped in silk
Shinto wedding gift

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Wedded Rocks

My response to Carpe Diem #1162 Ueno Iga Province, birthplace of Basho

Today we are visiting the region in which Matsuo Basho was born: Iga Province near Ueno, in modern-day Mie Prefecture. We have already learnt a lot about Basho, Chèvrefeuille’s haiku master of almost thirty years.

these fireflies,
like the moon
in all the rice paddies

the scent of early rice – 
cutting through the fields, on the right,
the Rough Shore Sea

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Barnhill)

a clam
torn from its shell
departing autumn

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

doubt it not:
the blossoms of the tide also show
spring upon this bay

© Basho (Tr. Barnhill)