Poems for haru asashi (早いばね) - early spring

It’s a quiet, rainy April Friday. I’ve found some Japanese spring poems that suit the day. Enjoy.

With the blossoms gone
I look for no special color
as I gaze afar—
and then from the empty sky
spring rain begins to fall.

~Princess Shikishi (d. 1201)


We cannot behold the beauty of the blossoms
enshrouded in haze—
yet steal us their scent, at least,
spring breeze blowing from the hills.

~Archbishop Henjo (816-890)


I shall dig no more
flowering trees to be planted,
for when springtime comes
human affections copy
the blossoms’ inconstancy.

~Monk Sosei (late 9th century)


On an evening
set aglow with the crimson
of plum blossoms,
the willow boughs sway softly;
and the spring rain falls.

~Kyogoku Tamekane (1254-1332)


Never again
would I be born to suffer
in a body like this.

Just take joy in the moon,
spend your time among flowers

~Bishop Shinkei (1406-1475)

And one bonus haiku, written today at approximately 1:45 p.m.:

(sound of gasp) did you hear that?
an explosion in the sky
through the foggy lull

~dhaval m.

Photo of plum blossoms by Miss Chien, of cherry blossoms in Japanese Tea Garden by heather, and of cherry blossom branch by Catherine Elisabeth, all on Flickr.