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Poet: Matsuo Basho
Poem: The dragonfly
Volume: The Essential Haiku
Year: Published/Written in 1994
Comment 7 of 7, added on May 8th, 2009 at 11:44 AM.
It is the most baffling of all koan ever written, althoguh I do not remember it among the traditional koan. While I love Jenny's interpretation, I can see it also as the moment when one ponders whether to attach (land) or not as one realizes one is capable now of doing either.
Ed Moreno from United States
Comment 6 of 7, added on February 7th, 2006 at 9:43 PM.
I'm not certain that this poem is meant to have a particular meaning, though I enjoyed reading what you folks had to say about it. To me, it just depicts a single moment in time, a dragonfly hovering, bouncing in the air the way dragonflies do, perhaps a bit indecisive or just reluctant to stop flying. A small but a vivid moment. Just my two cents, for what they're worth :D
Jenny from United States
Comment 5 of 7, added on January 24th, 2006 at 6:50 AM.
It is really about the longing for something one doesn't have, or else, can't have. The dragonfly may land on every other leave of grass, and that's exactly why it doesn't want to, so it keeps trying to land precisely on that blade of grass.
M.C. Arnold from Brazil
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It is the most baffling of all koan ever written, althoguh I do not remember it among the traditional koan. While I love Jenny's interpretation, I can see it also as the moment when one ponders whether to attach (land) or not as one realizes one is capable now of doing either.
Ed Moreno from United States