Matsuo Basho

Heat Waves Shimmering

haiku

Heat Waves Shimmering - meaning Summary

Heat and Quiet Absence

This brief haiku presents a small, precise scene: heat waves shimmering a few inches above dead grass. It contrasts the transient, shimmering disturbances of air with the fixed, lifeless ground. The poem compresses sensory detail to evoke late-summer heat and a muted sense of decline or exhaustion in the landscape. Its economy of language invites readers to linger on the physical stillness and the subtle motion that defines the moment.

Read Complete Analyses

Heat waves shimmering one or two inches above the dead grass.

Translated by Robert Hass
default user
PoetryVerse just now

Feel free to be first to leave comment.

8/2200 - 0