The Six Ways

Hell:
Bright autumn moon --
pond snails crying
in the saucepan.

 

The Hungry Ghosts:
Flowers scattering --
the water we thirst for
far off, in the mist.

 

Animals:
In the falling of petals
they see no Buddha,
no Law.

 

Malignant Spirits:
In the shadow of blossoms,
voice against voice,
the gamblers.

 

Men:
We humans --
squirming around
among the blossoming flowers.

 

The Heaven Dwellers:
A hazy day --
even the gods
must feel listless.

 

~ Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), whose name means "a single bubble in steeping tea" is famous for his hundreds of haiku and poems about the smallest of life's creatures -- the tiniest insects.
Above he wrote of the 6 realms of existence and rebirth in Buddhist cosmology.