In the cherry blossom's shade
by Kobayashi IssaEnglish version by Robert Hass
Original Language Japanese
In the cherry blossom's shade
there's no such thing
as a stranger.
 | -- from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell |
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In Japanese Zen poetry, spring blossoms, particularly cherry blossoms, are often used as symbols for the simple, natural, unfolding springtime of enlightenment.
Understanding this, the rest of the poem opens up.
In the "shade" or, you might say, beneath the canopy of enlightenment, there is no longer any sense of separation. Nothing and no one is foreign to you. There is no such thing as a stranger.
