Poem Of The Week: Winter Solitude By Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)

We could waste words reflecting upon a miserable, sodden season of ‘named’ storms, gusty winds and deluges. Or we could consider, instead, seventeenth century Japanese poet, Matsuo Bashō’s, exquisite Haiku of a proper winter. The Haiku form of seventeen syllables, of which Bashō was a master practitioner, embodies concision: not a word can afford to be wasted in such a circumscribed poetic structure. Characteristically rendered in lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, excepting where effective translation demands a slight concession, the structure of Haiku supports an intense distillation of tone or meaning.

Whilst Hass’ reading of ‘Winter Solitude’ uses a count of 5, 7 and 4 respectively, it is with no appreciable compromise to a poem that ingathers the variegated senses of a cold, pristine day in a few short phrases. The Haiku’s borders open wide to suggestion, so that within three lines the reader may infer a limitless, all-enveloping snowfield, the sound of the breeze conspicuous in the muffled silence, and the beautiful immediacy of isolation, of being present in the moment.

And on the eve of a new year, we can always pretend that Bashō’s wind is a harbinger of hope.