On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho

Basho, One Of The Greatest Of Japanese Poets And The Master Of Haiku, Was Also A Buddhist Monk And A Life-long Traveller. His Poems Combine 'karumi', Or Lightness Of Touch, With The Zen Ideal Of Oneness With Creation. Each Poem Evokes The Natural World - The Cherry Blossom, The Leaping Frog, The Summer Moon Or The Winter Snow - Suggesting The Smallness Of Human Life In Comparison To The Vastness And Drama Of Nature. Basho Himself Enjoyed Solitude And A Life Free From Possessions, And His Haiku Are The Work Of An Observant Eye And A Meditative Mind, Uncluttered By Materialism And Alive To The Beauty Of The World Around Him.