Basho wrote a favorite poem of mine, once translated as,

“Sitting here quietly doing nothing, the grass comes and grows by itself.”

The best and most traditional haiku always contains a seasonal reference. Like springtime above. Instructors rarely mention seasons today.

Instead, a haiku is presented as a simple poem of three lines with a certain syllable count, usually 3,7, 5. That, too, is a little off, as I think haiku is more importantly written as a two part poem first, with an exact syllable count less important.

We’re all free to write poetry anyway we want, of course, but I think it’s instructional to look at how the Japanese master poets wrote haiku. You can easily group Basho’s poems into Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

I once knew a newspaper editor named Michael Duffett   (Rest in peace, Michael). Very British, Cambridge educated. As a joke, I once showed him a silly haiku I had written. Immediately, “Where’s the seasonal reference?” I confessed I didn’t know about that. But, since he lived for years in Japan and had made a living translating Japanese into languages like German, I, of course, deferred.

This site has fine examples of Basho’s work. As always, much depends on the ability of the translator.

https://allpoetry.com/Matsuo-Basho

This video’s narrator has had far too much caffeine but he does introduces us to Basho’s life. I needed to calm down after watching the hurried delivery. A good way to do that? Reading more Basho.

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