a playful wind
shreds its leaves:
my banana tree
dragon's ears first
then lacy phoenix tails:
banana leaves.
a fruitless banana,
useless but decorative:
like me.
Author notes
This might be a little obscure, but then again, haiku is a popular form and this *is* a poetry site. Someone ought to know who I'm referring to here. I've even paraphrased some of his words (though not his actual work.) The title is a hint. 
The last one is not meant to be disparaging . He himself said it -- I just made it into a senryu. 
A contest entry
- WHO AM I by ronnica.
1700 points, ended January 24, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
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Basho, whose name means "banana tree" -- I must admit I did have to do a bit of research to find this out! But it makes me appreciate your poem all the more!
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I liked how you put this into a senryu, I love haiku. There is not much though to work on, I even thought of those bananas in pyjamas.( a fruitless banana.) foxed again.
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There's plenty to work on ... if you're a student of haiku and have been lucky enough to find the right books/data sources.
The poet Bassho is probably the most famous, or at least the most often quoted, haiku poet ever. The pen name 'bassho' means "fruitless banana tree" in Japanese. His friends gave him one, you see, and he often wrote while sitting underneath it. He also often wrote about it in his journal, which is transcribed in a wonderful book of Haiku I checked out from the library some time ago. Among other things, he compares the tree to himself, and the tree's leaves to dragon's ears when fresh and to phoenix tails when shredded by the wind. He also spends some time talking about their "delightful uselessness", to paraphrase. Hence, the challenge brought him immediately to mind.
It was obscure on a general level, but not really so on a haiku-specific level. I tried to give as many hints and references as possible without outright giving it away.
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I want you to know I did solve your riddle before you posted your note! But it took a great deal of research and time. I think it depends on how broad one's education was concerning poetry, if poetry was covered at all in school! My teachers emphasized western, primarily English poets, and some information about "forms" without the proper context or background. And then it depends on what kind of poetry one pursues after formal education; I am just now exploring something other than free verse! But your poem was a good challenge!
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I know; I saw your comment. I happen to have studied and read haiku a fair amount on my own time. That's why I figured someone here might know who he is already... it is a poetry site and I figured someone else might have read the same books I have for the same reasons. Eastern poetry in general is unquestionably neglected in many Western education systems. It sucks.
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I am only just getting into Haiku , many miles from knowing it. So sorry I had no eastern poets in my mind.
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