A Quiet Esthetic

(click on image to enlarge)

Haiku usually have a seasonal theme, but in this case, as a new year begins, the theme is for all seasons. 

The three artisans who created the magnificent Portland Japanese Gardens on a 5.5 acre plot left only this small post cap (approximately 3.5" square) scribed with their mon [crest] to mark their monumental four years of work. The post stands near the poetry stone, which is the singular example of poetry in the entire garden.

(click on image to enlarge)

In Japanese, the haiku on the stone by the renowned 20th century haiku poet, Shuoshi Mizuhara (1892-1981) who visited the garden in 1966, reads:

Koko ni kite

Nihon no haru hi

Teru gotoshi

The English translation:

Here, miles from Japan,

I stand as if warmed by the

Spring sunshine of home

May this new year be filled with great works of beauty accomplished with esthetic restraint!