Haiku by Basho

      A cicada shell;
it sang itself
      utterly away


      Midnight frost --
I'd borrow
      the scarecrow's shirt


      A bee
staggers out
      of the peony


      Year after year
on the monkey's face
      a monkey face


      My summer robes --
there are still some lice
      I haven't caught


      The dragonfly
can't quite land
      on that blade of grass

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) was not only the most famous Japanese poet of his time; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites.