「蛤のふたみにわかれ行く秋ぞ」

The long journey of the Deep North, lasting about five months, finally came to an end in Ogaki, Mino Province. Reluctant to part with the people who celebrated his safe return, Basho left the melancholy concluding haiku: 'Reluctant to part, like a clam shell torn from its meat, I set out for Futami as autumn fades.' He then set off by boat again toward Futamiura in Ise. It is an exquisite conclusion overlapping the reluctant farewell and the loneliness of passing autumn with the separation of a clam shell and its meat.