Tag Archives: Basho

Hot air, cold air

物言えば唇寒し秋の風 (Mono ieba kuchibiru samushi aki no kaze; “When you say something, then your lips will feel the chill of an autumn wind”) Definition: Being nasty will only make you feel bad later; shooting off your mouth invites disaster. Needlessly … Continue reading

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Poetry. Poetry never changes.

What falls away is always? 不易流行 fu.eki.ryuu.kou Literally: not – simple / divination / change – flow – go Alternately: One of Bashō’s principles for writing haiku: that the essence of haiku lies in both the unchanging (不易) and in … Continue reading

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