Ki no moto ni / Under the trees, Matsuo Basho

In our garden on a sunny day in spring (6 May 2023)

ki no moto ni / shiru mo namasu mo / sakura kana

under the trees / soup, fish salad, and everywhere / cherry blossoms

Looking up a cherry blossom tree in the park (Mjölkafållan, 29 April 2023)

When I looked out of my windows and saw the shadow of the leafless apple tree in our garden, I thought of Matsuo Basho and his tree haiku.

And then I remembered the cherry blossoms in the park that are in full bloom now—temporal—but beautiful.

According to Matsuo Basho, Haiku and Yamagata, shiru mo namasu mo refers not only to actual Japanese dishes but is used as an idiom to mean “everything.”