The Haiku
The poem reads as follows:
The Deep Stillness Seeping Into the Rocks The Voice of the Cicadas By Matsuo Basho |
An explanation of the Haiku
The video found on the welcome page does a rather good job of explaining this haiku along with the individual Japanese word associated with it.
This haiku is told from the observer's prospective. "The Deep Stillness" implies that the viewer or observer is alone somewhere in nature. Because "the voice of the cicadas" is heard the season the observer is currently in is late summer and the day is probably warm. "Seeping Into the Rocks" most likely has to do with the unfortunate feeling that the cicada are so noisy and so common that the sound has begun to drown out from the observer's hearing. Kind of like when you hear a song you like one too many times and you begin to filter it out. This haiku is rather peaceful and poignant in its observation of what a possible summer day or evening was like in the Edo period during the days of Basho sensei.
The video found on the welcome page does a rather good job of explaining this haiku along with the individual Japanese word associated with it.
This haiku is told from the observer's prospective. "The Deep Stillness" implies that the viewer or observer is alone somewhere in nature. Because "the voice of the cicadas" is heard the season the observer is currently in is late summer and the day is probably warm. "Seeping Into the Rocks" most likely has to do with the unfortunate feeling that the cicada are so noisy and so common that the sound has begun to drown out from the observer's hearing. Kind of like when you hear a song you like one too many times and you begin to filter it out. This haiku is rather peaceful and poignant in its observation of what a possible summer day or evening was like in the Edo period during the days of Basho sensei.