_
Then his visage quickened, another mood switch. His eyes mellowed as he
turned and carefully lifted the bud from the vase behind him. It was a
camellia, purest white. He held it before him as he turned back, its
long stem still dripping.
"You know, there's a haiku by Basho I love very much. Let me give it in
Japanese . . . a haiku only sounds right in the original.
_time ga ka ni
notto hi no deru
yama ji kana."
_She paused to let the meaning sink in, to feel that open- ended
sensation a good haiku always sends your imagination spinning off into.
"How's this for the English?