Monkey and a Moon

My friend Fawn told me there was some poem about a monkey and a moon...so, because in this day and age of high technology, I looked it up and instantly came up with a few things.

Hakuin, a Japanese Zen master, lived from 1686 to 1768. He wrote the following poem:

The monkey is reaching
For the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him
He'll never give up.

If he'd let go the branch and
Disappear in the deep pool
The whole world would shine
With dazzling pureness.

Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) coined the term "Haiku". He wrote:

The long night
Monkey dreams how to
Catch the moon

Thanks, Fawn. Now I know a little bit about the image on my back. When people ask, I can Haiku away!