Such a Fragrance

blossoms at their peak
the mountain the same as always
at daybreak
­                                                                         the sky ribboned with pink clouds
­                                                                         the gift of another day
what kind of tree
with the unknown flower
such a fragrance
­                                                                         full of memories and dreams
­                                                                         an essence we can’t bottle
melting away
the brush draws up the water
of a spring
­                                                                         hear the musical tinkles
­                                                                         the trickling of clear water
with a fan
drinking wine in the shadow
of scattered blossoms
­                                                                         the bottles drain drop by drop
­                                                                         petals turn from pink to brown

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)     Kim M. Russell, 7^th August 2018

My response to Carpe Diem Renga With Basho #5 such a fragrance

In this episode of the newly renamed ‘Renga With Basho’, a feature in which we create renga from haiku written only by Matsuo Basho, we are creating renga together with the master with a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve stanzas. We may choose our own line up of the given haiku and complete the renga with our own two-line stanzas between the haiku; the ‘hokku’  and the ‘ageku’ must be connected in some way to make the circle complete.