Spring is passing!
Birds are singing, fish weeping
With tearful eyes.

Matsuo Bashō, Narrow Road to the Deep North (Oku no hosomichi, 奥の細道)

Such wonderful introspective qualities in all of Bashō’s work, where spirituality meets the Earth, like lightning creating an arc of light over the horizon. Then there’s Issa (Cup of Tea), another Haiku poet that I love, for his material tends to speak for the voiceless, and transcends the earthly realm, being earthly nonetheless, and like Basho, Issa’s work contains a heavy amount of voidness and beauty.

Even with insects—
some can sing,
some can’t.

Kobayashi Issa [all the time I pray to Buddha]

And my favorite of all time:

On a branch
floating downriver
a cricket, singing.

Kobayashi Issa [On a branch …]