Patricia Coltrin Loves Basho's Poetry and So do I



Patricia Coltrin "Basho- On Poetry"



Professor Baron wrote one time in my notebook not  to follow teachers nor masters but to search for what they were searching or seeking.

Though Patricia is one of our Fort Mason teachers, I'd seen her in other classes work on this Basho's piece. The first Basho's haiku I'd encountered was about a frog in a pond . And I fell in love with Basho's short, short poetry:

Furu ike ya

kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
 

It has many translations:

Into the ancient pond

A frog jumps
Water’s sound!
 - DT Suzuki

The old pond

A frog jumped in,
Kerplunk!
- Allen  Ginsberg

Ever since I'd read Basho's haiku , I'd written several haikus of my own.  My own frog  translation:

froggy checks pond
 wonder how it feels
--to be inside H2O
EN

I've a hard copy of National Geographic Basho's trail article.  Take a look at Basho's journey.

In the Muppet movie,  Kermit the Frog serenaded us with Kenneth Ascher & Paul Williams composition's  "The Rainbow Connection.", nominated for Best Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.
If you are a lover, a dreamer and believes in magic, wishes & enchantment, listen to  Jason Mraz or Sarah MacLachlan's intepretation of the Rainbow Connection.