If you were asked to compose a poem to represent your life as you drew your last breaths, would it be eloquent? As a final episode on characters and traditions from the Kyoto Renaissance, today we're talking about Japanese death poems.

These are short poems written by haiku poets, zen monks, and samurai on their death beds, and represent a lifetime of creative output, refinement of mind, or martial prowess condensed into a few final lines.

We discuss several of these poems, their content, context, the people who wrote them, their symbolism, and share a few tips on reading poetry.