A silhouette
in the early dawn cold
lighting a fire.
A pretty haiku. Dawn is an in between time like twilight, and the haiku gives this image of a lone shadow/person trying to keep warm. Dawn can be really cold, sometimes more than the evening before it. It leaves a lot to the imagination like maybe they are having trouble lighting a fire because their hands are numb from the cold or how they managed overnight in the cold without a fire.
In the plum blossom scent
the sun pops up-
a mountain path.
Plum blossoms signify early spring, so probably still a bit chilly, but getting warmer. I don't know how sunrises are in Japan, but maybe they're more sudden. My Mom was just talking the other day about how sunrises and sunsets in Seattle were very abrupt. Perhaps it's like that in Japan as well, the sun suddenly "pops up." We've gotten thee mountain image many times, Basho is probably walking there and can see the sun clearly from his mountain path.
Let's go
snow viewing
until we tumble over!
I don't have much to comment on this one, it's just cute. Bashou sounds more like a kid than a typical Japanese poet since they tend to sigh over snow more than enjoy it. I just wonder if he means they are going to walk through the snow until they collapse from the effort or more play in it.
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For the third poem I think Basho may be verbalizing his desire to play in the snow. I kind of get that feeling from the last line of the poem, rather than simply state "tumble over," there is an emphasis placed on the phrase. Who knows...great analysis!
ReplyDeleteMichael T.