A Haiku by Kobayashi Issa

What a world,
where lotus flowers
are ploughed into a field.

I enjoyed this haiku by Kobayashi Issa because it is short, sweet, and to the point. This haiku could be interpreted a few different ways. It could be speaking about urban expansion that reduces the landscape to a landscape that would be featureless if not for the houses. Or, it could be talking about how civilization fears that which is different from the rest, and destroyes those that are unique in order to maintain conformity. I feel that the haiku is essentially asking "Is nothing sacred anymore?" People will destroy something as beautiful as a lotus flower in order to fulfill their needs. Nothing in nature is treated with respect anymore, and people will irresponsibly desecrate nature without considering the consequences for the present and for the future, and no one cares about the beauty something might have; all that matters is how something can be exploited. Shrines to sacred deities and spirits are neglected and ignored, and tradition is forgotten. Fields of flowers and grass make way for rows of wooden houses and muddy streets, and a beautiful pond is used as a cesspit. I think that Issa saw these things and was appalled. The language of this haiku is very simple. It almost sounds like prose. Although, there could have been poetic devices lost in translation.