161Haiku 俳句
閑さや岩にしみ入る蝉の声
しずかさやいわにしみいるせみのこえShizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe
“Such stillness — the cicadas' cry sinks into the rocks.”
The meaning
In midsummer, the cicadas' shrill song does not disturb the silence: it deepens and reveals it. Opposites can deepen one another.
At the origin
A haiku composed by Bashō in 1689 during his journey through northern Japan.
The characters
- 閑さ shizukasastillness
- や yacutting word
- 岩 iwarock
- に
- しみ入る
- 蝉
- の
- 声
やParticle“And” of an open list: among others. In a haiku it is the cut — a silence that parts the verse.
In practice
In the world's noise, look for the calm the noise itself outlines.