tree peonies bloom
so bright upon the hillside
she shades her eyes

- Ken Kuniyuki (1)

The first line of the haiku hints as to what season it is, spring. The tree peony has blossomed with its showy flowers in full bloom. This showiness is suggested on the second line describing how the tree full of red and pink flowers may have looked in the foreground of a green hillside. The third line suggests a double meaning. First, it could literally mean that a woman covers her eyes from the brightness of the tree. Second, the peony in the poem could be a suitor of high stature who is showy and boisterous, whom the woman has chosen to shun, perhaps preferring the simple and humble things in life.