1815
.壁穴に我名月の御出哉
kabe ana ni waga meigetsu no oide kana
hole in the wall--
my harvest moon
comes in
This haiku reminds us of one composed in 1813:
utsukushi ya shôji no ana no ama [no] kawa
looking pretty
in a hole in the paper door...
Heaven's River
Thematically, both poems belong to his "natural riches amid human poverty" group. Issa's screen is torn, but through it he sees the Milky Way. And, his wall has a hole, but through it he sees the moon. In both cases, rips and holes--signs of poverty--are revealed to be lucky, for they allow celestial beauty into the hovel.