Chanting the sutras
I receive the rice;
the shrikes sing.

Nothing remains
of the house I was born in -
fireflies.

From the back,
walking away soaking wet?

The green grass!
I return barefoot.

Even the sound of the raindrops
has grown older.

The moonlight pierces my empty stomach.

Going deeper
and still deeper -
the green mountains.
[Wake itte mo wake itte mo aoi yama]


"Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku" by Santoka Taneda, translated and introduced by John Stevens. New York & Tokyo, Weatherhill, 1980.