Absorbed, in its world, one frog
Breaking the silence
Of an ancient pond,
A frog jumped into water —
A deep resonance.
Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa
I fear I may be drowning us all in silence, so I will take a break until Monday. Until then
silkannthreades 
Love that!
Thanks, Ute. 🙂 🙂
A beautiful image and haiku, Gallivanta.
Thank you, Lavinia. I don’t see little green frogs in my garden but my sister, who lives in tropical Cairns, often has lovely green tree frogs in her garden. They are gorgeous to look at it.
Another treat from Ann! TY!
Hopefully there are more to come. 🙂
A beautiful marriage of words and image. Wishing you a peaceful weekend.
Thank you, Su. There was some peace to be had, sometimes just in ordinary things like hanging out the clothes, picking blackcurrants, and stirring the porridge pot.
A very appropriate marriage of image and poem and very zen.
Thank you, Andrea. The little frog usually sits near my computer desk. I find its presence very calming.
He’s a good-looking guy! It won’t be especially peaceful around here so I hope you get my share. 🙂 🙂 Happy weekend, Ann!
I tried to hold onto your share but I think it got away from me. 🙂 🙂
😃🍰🌹💕
Thanks for the warm smile………………..
Glad you are smiling. 🙂
Lovely color coordination with this picture. It is cool and calm.
Thank you, YC. The little frog and the posy ring are favourites in my house because of the calm they bring me.
Poetry is healing. I love Basho!
I hear you, Clanmother. Basho is wonderful.
Ever since I was very young I have known my internal silence as a deep well where all thing go to be healed. I still place my deepest hurts and great losses there. Your choice of translation is therefore perfect to me. And I love that dish – isn’t it beautiful. And your few flowers – perfection! I’m enjoying the daily inspiration – but have a good break over the weekend.
Our internal silences often carry a heavy load. Which is another reason I thought it would be a good idea to take a break, and to allow our silences to rest. I am so pleased though that you are enjoying my daily posts.
You choose the nicest pictures to go with these inspiring quotes. Thank you.
Thank you, Cynthia. Here’s something to ponder. Which comes first, the image or the quote? I am not sure I know.
Hmmm….
Interesting. Last evening, someone told me he is writing his memoir and he always starts with the image.
Hmmm…..I must pay more attention to what I do. I may do both depending on my mood or circumstances.
Have a restful weekend, Ann!
Thank you, Peter. May it be the same for you.
I love that artistic dish.<3
It’s lovely, isn’t it! It was a gift from a friend some years ago.
Great choice for a gift.<3
🙂 🙂
Excellent.
Thank you. 🙂
What a great compendium of translations for that haiku. The version you chose is one of only two with more lines than the standard three (the other being a limerick). Can you say why you chose to display the one you did?
And what a range of wordiness in the translations (or as Liz said above, interpretations), from the minimal “pond / frog / plop!” to the wordiness of “A lonely pond in age-old stillness sleeps . . . / Apart, unstirred by sound or motion . . . till / Suddenly into it a lithe frog leaps.”
It is a fascinating sample of some of the many translations of the Basho haiku. I enjoyed the commentary, too. The translation I chose is not my favourite but the words “breaking silence’ suited my post. I like this translation best:
The old pond;
a frog jumps in —
the sound of the water.
I also enjoyed the parody by Gibon Sengai
The old pond!
Bashô jumps in,
The sound of the water!
We might say Gibon Sengai took the plunge into parody.
Ha! Well said.
Thanks for posting the link to the page of translations, or should I say interpretations, of the frog haiku. It gave me insight into the translation process that I didn’t have before. (Every time I read a translated poem, I feel I’m missing out by not knowing the original language it was written in. Sound plays such an important role in conveying meaning in poetry.)
My daughter would agree with you. She gets very frustrated with various translations from Ancient Greek and Latin because they don’t capture the right sound. She has done some wonderful translations, although, of course, I have no way to compare them to the original verses, being completely ignorant of Ancient Greek and Latin. I have great admiration for skilled translators.
Enjoy your weekend, Ann.
Thank you, GP. Maybe the break will give me time to catch up with your recent posts. 🙂
I’d love for you to visit, but why not just take time for yourself!!
Good advice, GP. But, sad to say, I have spent some of my weekend undoing the naughtiness of a hacker who got into my Messenger account. Grrrr. No real harm done, but it was annoying.
I imagine it was.
🙂 🙂
Drowning in silence sounds pretty good to me . . . have a wonderful, quiet weekend!
Thank you, Kerry. I’ll do my best. I am making some porridge for a pre-bedtime supper. Stirring porridge is a very quiet and peaceful thing to do, until it starts plopping!