Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems, by Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, and Akira Yamamoto--8/10

I have never cared much for poetry, but wow. It turns out that I looooove Japanese haiku. (I think if I'd known that haiku are usually about the seasons and nature, I might have gotten interested sooner.) These poems are so simple and beautiful. Since they're only three short lines, they're very much like snapshots, and the scene that pops into your head is as much a part of the poem as the actual words. Just gorgeous. Here are a few of my favorites:

Dragonfly on a rock—

absorbed in

a daydream

Santōka            

An old well—

falling into its darkness

a camellia

Buson            

Early autumn—

peering through willows

the morning sun

Seibi            

Pear blossoms—

a woman reads a letter

by moonlight

Buson            

Sharing the same blood

but we’re not related—

            the hateful mosquito!

Jōsō