Irises

Waves of summer grass:
All that remains of soldiers’
Impossible dreams.

by Basho

夏草や兵共がゆめの跡

natsukusa ya
tsuwamono domo ga
yume no ato.

PS In Japanese, the word shōbu, means ‘warlike spirit’. It also sounds like the word for ‘contest’ with the connotations of a win or defeat. But it also is the name of the iris: hana shōbu. Perhaps the iris was named this because of its blade-like leaves. Because of this association with a warrior spirit, the Iris Festival became popular among samurai families.