3 japanese death poems
Japanese “death poem” attracts little attention. It’s rather puzzling. People are usually more interested in Basho and Issa and so on, but not interested in life as viewed from its end. Death poem, written just before one’s death, demands attention in its own literary and philosophical light. Here is one.
Ota Dokan
1432-1486
Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
my loss of life.
I am interested in studying death poem because it seems to dove-tail with what I have been trying to accomplish. Here is one.
He Went To His Own Funeral
he woke up
got dressed
brushed his teeth
combed his hair
drank a cup of coffee
and went to the church
it was his own funeral
I never saw him since
they must have buried him
And a vulgar version: an epitaph.
A Foot Soldier’s Death Poem
what do I want to be after I die?
I want to be a hospital bed bug
and bite the army nurse’s cunt with vengeance
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