Inazuma ya!
Yami no kata yuku
Goi no koe.
—Basho
A quick lightning flash!
Traveling through the blackness
The night heron calls.
A striking word-picture of an evening storm and a wild bird’s
reaction. The lightning and the bird both fly through the dark
ness. The sharp cry of the night heron emphasizes the solitude of
the occasion and the suddenness of the storm.