Japanese Death Poems

In the death poem, or jisei, the essential idea was that at one's final moment of life, one's reflection on death (one's own usually but also death in general) could be especially lucid and meaningful and therefore also constituted an important observation about life. The poem was considered a gift to one's loved ones, students, and friends. The tradition began with Zen monks, but was also popular with poets, whose poems were often just as solemn as those of monks, or entirely flippant and humorous. The poems are often full of symbols of death, such as the full moon, the western sky, the song of the cuckoo, and images of the season in which the writer died.  See also, Japanese Death Haiku.

The death poem of Basho, one of the greatest haiku poets of all time:

    On a journey, ill;

    my dream goes wandering

    over withered fields.

About the above graphic: During his last moments (September 9, 1769), Shisui's disciples requested that he write a death poem. He grasped his brush, painted a circle, cast the brush aside, and died. The circle— indicating the void, the essence of everything, enlightenment— is one of the most important symbols of Zen Buddhism. most important symbols of Zen Buddhism.

Kobayashi Issa captures mortality well in this haiku:
 

In this world 

we walk on the roof of hell,         

gazing at flowers.