“Nothing in the cry…” by Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō

,

Sam Hamill

“Nothing in the cry…” by Matsuo Bashō

T.

Over coffee the other night, I sighed and mentioned that I miss having my life guided by zen. J was quite surprised to hear that. I guess I knew you after your zen period, she said. Which made me a little sad. I do miss going slowly through the days. After zen — what does that even imply? That I’m manic and a mess, that’s what. It also meant I wasn’t strong enough to sustain what I already had, especially as everything grew more hectic and stressed. I should go back to practicing it again. Oh, the shoulds of our lives.

Here. Look at what a beauty this is —

“Nothing in the cry…”

Matsuo Bashō

Translated by Sam Hamill

Nothing in the cry

of cicadas suggests they

are about to die

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