After The Gentle Poet Kobayashi Issa Poem by Robert Hass

After The Gentle Poet Kobayashi Issa

Rating: 4.0


New Year's morning—
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.

A huge frog and I
staring at each other,
neither of us moves.

This moth saw brightness
in a woman's chamber—
burned to a crisp.

Asked how old he was
the boy in the new kimono
stretched out all five fingers.

Blossoms at night,
like people
moved by music

Napped half the day;
no one
punished me!

Fiftieth birthday:

From now on,
It's all clear profit,
every sky.

Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.

These sea slugs,
they just don't seem
Japanese.

Hell:

Bright autumn moon;
pond snails crying
in the saucepan.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Terry Craddock 29 December 2016

'Don't worry, spiders, I keep house casually.' so many nice stanzas in this, sometimes I brush spiders aside, let them run free, but too much webbing me and vacuum cleaning tends to leave no trace of disappearing spiders

0 0 Reply
Bernard F. Asuncion 29 December 2016

Blossoms at night, like people moved by music Nice poem..... Thanks for sharing++++++++++++++

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Susan Williams 29 December 2016

Gentle Poet? O- k- a- y.... this was very interesting especially frying pond snails in the frying pan but he failed to add the seasonings...

0 0 Reply
Tom Allport 29 December 2016

nothing changes one year to next. except we get older and bolder?

1 0 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 29 December 2016

In a woman's chamber! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

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Robert Hass

Robert Hass

San Francisco
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