In my hut

by Kobayashi Issa

English version by Gabriel Rosenstock
Original Language Japanese

In my hut
mice and fireflies
getting along

-- from This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World, Edited by Ivan M. Granger

<<Previous Poem | More Poems by Kobayashi Issa | Next Poem >>


/ Image by qmnonic /


View All Poems by Kobayashi Issa

Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Several of Issa's poems refer to fireflies. They seem to represent a luminous aspect of the awareness, that which hovers in quiet delight in the summer night.

Mice can suggest that part of the mind that scurries and scratches and gets into everything -- the busy mind that loves to hear itself squeak from every corner.

So, do your mice and fireflies get along?



Recommended Books: Kobayashi Issa

The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology) Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library)
More Books >>



In my hut