“Only the moon”
The Narrow Road to the Deep North“Only the moon” is the opening phrase of Kikusha-ni’s haiku, which Colonel Kota recites twice while preparing to kill Darky Gardiner. The poem’s images of a meeting-bridge, solitude, and coldness give the brief expression particular weight in a scene where Kota steadies himself before placing his sword on Darky’s neck.
Text and Imagery
The excerpted haiku moves from “Only the moon” to “and I, on our meeting-bridge,” then ends with “alone, growing cold.” Its few images join a shared crossing with isolation: the speaker and moon meet, yet remain alone in the cold. The scene supplies no further context for the poem, but its closing image resonates with the immediate danger facing Darky and the deliberate, solitary act Kota is preparing to carry out.
Recitation Before the Execution
Kota recites the haiku twice as he confronts the fact that his hands are trembling. He has already decided that carrying the sick Darky back to camp would waste another prisoner’s energy and food, since he expects Darky to die soon. He pours water from a canteen onto his sword and watches the beads run over its bright surface; the beauty steadies him. He then slows his breath and lowers the blade until it rests on Darky’s neck. The recitation belongs to this sequence of preparation, between Kota’s wavering body and his effort to ready himself for the execution.
Function in the Scene
The haiku does not change Kota’s decision, but its repeated words accompany the physical ritual by which he gathers control: recitation, water on the sword, measured breathing, and the blade lowered to Darky’s neck. Its cold solitude contrasts with the intimate material details of the moment, especially the water beads on the blade. The poem’s beauty steadies Kota, even as he prepares to kill a man he regards as too sick to be worth returning to camp. That contrast makes the phrase an expression of composure under pressure, not a reprieve from the violence about to occur.
