Four Poems (Yosa Buson)

Today's post is slightly unusual in that it is talking about every poem on the linked page. All four are by Yosa Buson. They have been translated from the Japanese, but I imagine that natively they are all haiku.

It's unusual to talk of poems in a grouping like they are here. But, um, they are all serene and picturesque. I think it's a haiku feature, but I like that for each one you know what season it is. Summer, autumn, frost.

My favorite is number 557. One's first step is a journey, all by itself. But also, since it's outside the gate, it's like leaving home and as the poem states, it's appropriately autumn. If you leave the gate of home, you're not a child anymore, so you are on the path to adulthood and old age and then death. Kind of like summer --> autumn --> winter. And not only is it wintertime, but it's evening (close of day) too. Sheesh, neh?

Favorite line: "I too am a traveller"