Dew on the Grass, Part 2

Continuing the posting of an occasional poem from Dew on the Grass: the Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa by Makoto Ueda, take a look at this one:

pacifying
the clamorous world
late cherry blossoms

Issa

I've written a number of poems about late cherry blossoms because there is a grove of cherry trees behind the museum next to where I work and they blossom two, sometimes, three times a year. Right now, there are a handful of the trees, positioned just so and protected from the merciless wind and chill of autumn, that have blossomed even though it has been in the 40's and 30's here in Pittsburgh recently. Here is one poem that resulted:




the older you are,
the nobler the truth —
fall, cherry blossom.




best,
Don