Useless Dreams, Alas! Poem by Uejima Onitsura

At the age of 73 Onitsura retired from the world, shaved his head, and entered the priesthood. From that time until his death - happened 5 years later - he wrote no more poems, his last haiku being composed at the time he took the tonsure. It is an act of renunciation: '' kare kiku ya mukashi fuushichi tamuke-gusa '' Chrysanthemums, all here, that long ago were seventeen- my offering here! Note: - ''17'' refers not only to the number of syllables in a haiku, but also has a conventional meaning of ''young and lovely, '' [sort of our ''sweet sixteen'']; - flowers are used before most Buddhist altars.

another hokku by Onitsura: '' a nightingale, when it stops singing, is nothing more than a small green bird ''

quoting Onitsura: A good poet is someone who can make a verse interesting. A master is someone whose verse does not sound interesting but has a flavor deep inside. A still higher stage is when a poet has reached the utmost of the art and his poem presents neither color nor fragrance. Only at that stage can one be credited as having achieved the quintessence of haikai.

this translation should be by Michael R. Burch