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Poetry
Chaikhana
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About Kobayashi IssaTimeline (1763 - 1828) |
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English version by Original Language |
Reflected
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Reflected
in the dragonfly's eye -- mountains.
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To appreciate the depth of this haiku, imagine the qualities of a dragonfly. It is beautiful, ephemeral, almost ethereal. Its wings are transluscent, yet glisten with rainbow colors when they catch the light. On summer days it darts about, almost impossible to catch, than hovers still, in midair, contemplating the world about it.
And its eyes, in Issa's haiku, reflect.
One way to understand this poem is that the dragonfly represents the mind become self aware, resplendent, delighting in its intangible beauty. It darts here and there, and then stabilizes. In recognizing its own insignifigance, it becomes alive to a world of wonder that surrounds it.
In this way, even a dragonfly's minute eye reflects the grandeur of the mountains. The mind, in its stillness, in recognizing its nothingness, manages to reflect the immensity of eternity.
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Ivan
M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright ©
2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or
publishers.