To Bashō [II]

by Nyogen Senzaki

His straw sandals climbed the mountains

And crossed the rivers.

At the end of his journey,

The autumn wind was mercilessly cold.

He dreamed of the beautiful lake under the waning moon.

He did not wake up the next morning.

Bashō, the haiku poet, thus passed from the world, two

        hundred and forty-six years ago.

American haiku friends gather here to commemorate Bashō.

The loneliness of autumn saturates each heart as in the

        old times

November 11, 1940

From Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy: The Zen Teachings and Translations of Nyogen Senzaki, Somerville, Massachusetts: Wisdom Publications, 2005, page 51.