Basho's Frog Haiku

Frog by Getsuju Japan, late 18th-early 19th 

century 90.3 x 167.8cm Ink on paper Kaikodo

BASHO'S FROG HAIKU

“Imagine that a poet deliberately 
using a direct quote as the first 
two lines of his haiku can achieve 
a great poem?”—Chen-ou Liu, 
“Read It Slowly, Repeatedly, 
and Communally”
___________________

HAIKU FLASHBACK

The old frog haiku—
From Basho to Miss Ginsberg
The same old Kaplunk!!!

BAYLINER

Here I am again—
Enjoying Lake Washington
In my Bayliner

RAINIER BEACH

Basho my teacher—
Gave me his bungalow shack
Down here by the lake

SEAGULLS AND BLACKBIRDS

Living down here—
By the lake amidst cedars
And tall Douglas firs

AN ANCIENT RAINFOREST

Downhill from Skyway—
Down thru old Dead Horse Canyon
A creek by my shack

DEAD HORSE CANYON

Old growth last refuge—
Tall giant cedars and firs
The rest all clear-cut

LAKESHORE PARK

Across Rainier Ave—
A City Park, baseball field
And some tennis courts

THE RED CLIFF

Late August Sunsets—
Volcanic pumice reddish
Faulknerian glow

BAYLINER HAIKU

No Kaplunk for me—
Writing down there in the boat
But I did see it

THE FROG

Swimming in long strokes—
Deep past the boat & the dock
Pushing and gliding

KAPLUNK

My Basho moment—
Me underwater like him
Pushing and gliding