03 The Daily Read, Part 2:

The Haiku of Issa…

… well, another round of poems i am slow to connect to…

… one about a toad that looks like it could belch a cloud…

… frogs and toads are auspicious signs in Japan, believed to bring good fortune, agriculturally, financially, and to journeys…

… is belching a cloud akin to spewing good fortune?…

… in Japan, frogs and toads are also related to the sun and, in particular, the moon, the three legged frog being symbolic of the moon and it’s three phases…

… or is the idea of the toad belching, bringing the toad back to earth… none of this is readily apparent…

… i inadvertently learn that a belching toad portends rain in Zambia…