Matsuo Basho

The Old Pond

haiku serene

The Old Pond - meaning Summary

Stillness Interrupted by Sound

This three-line haiku presents a single, concrete scene: an old pond and the sudden splash when a frog jumps in. The poem compresses a moment of silence broken by sound, drawing attention to perception and the present instant. Its spare, Zen-inflected imagery invites meditation on transience and awareness, suggesting how small events can foreground consciousness and the passage of time.

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The old pond-- a frog jumps in, sound of water.

Translated by Robert Hass
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