Haiku

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) was a Japanese poet and Buddhist priest known for his haiku poems and journals. He wrote over 20,000 haiku, which have remained popular with readers up to the present day.

I remember encountering the following haiku by Issa for the first time several decades ago. I love the serene simplicity of the poem and the underlying acknowledgment of how a snail best accomplishes its goals.

O snail
Climb Mount Fuji
But slowly, slowly!