INVITATION TO THE WORKS OF KYOSHI

　　Seasonal word: Awaiting spring, haru-o-matsu
　　This haiku was written in 1914, when Kyoshi was 40 years old.

This haiku shows Kyoshi earnestly waiting for spring while wishing that the passage of time could solve his worries and difficulties. The cutting word ya implies his prayerful wishes. "Will time solve all problems?" he asks himself. "I hope so. Still, if this is not to be, I will face what comes."

The haiku does not imply that Kyoshi indulges in negative thought. Rather, it offers his philosophical view of life. It shows that he does his best without allowing himself to be torn by anxiety. Time, Kyoshi says, will hopefully provide answers. He has, in other words, made his peace with life.

With uncertainties and worries about publishing his haiku monthly Hototogisu and indecisions about his own literary life in his mind, he went on a trip to visit his home town, Matsuyama. On his way back, Kyoshi had some haiku meetings with his old friends and acquaintances. He found himself assured that haiku was the only road he should follow and in this poem offered us a glimpse of resurgent self-confidence and courage.