Basho's frog
jumps in an old pond
no sound heard
yet it ripples
in the minds of poets
where there is
neither pond nor frog
I sit still to hear
the sound of a frog
jumping into the pond
one frog
after another
jumps
into the pond of my mind
lub dub, lub dub, lub dub
the frog of my mind
jumps
into the pond of the zeitgeist
splashless
as it swims
sitting
under the basho tree
by an old pond
frogs and I
sing to one another
Note:"Basho's original name was Matsuo Kinsaku but he changed it to 'Basho' - after he was presented with a wide leafed banana tree (or basho tree) by one of his disciples. Although the tree is rare in Japan and the climate too cold for it to bear fruit, Basho liked it because of its large, soft leaves. The basho tree appeared frequently in his work:
Squalls shake the Basho
tree - all
night my basin echoes rain."
-- An excerpt from the webpage titled Basho of Poets' Graves
July/August 2010 issue of Sketchbook
