MATSUO BASHÕ ON THE ROAD

Sleeping beside prostitutes

in the roadside inn,

something to do while away

from the capital,

to write down,

weave few poems

out of it; not

something to do at the capital,

to talk to,

sleep next to common prostitutes

when you

have invites to poetry night

after another at fashionable villas,

Moon watching trips

with people of 'standing';

no, this is

just a bit of exotica

for the poet samurai mistaken

for a monk

living on the roads

instead of just tasting them

to feed his poetic stream.

17.02.2019