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Kobayashi Issa Poems

A collection of select Kobayashi Issa famous poems that were written by Kobayashi Issa or written about the poet by other famous poets. PoetrySoup is a comprehensive educational resource of the greatest poems and poets on history.

Don't forget to view our Kobayashi Issa home page with links to biographical information, articles, and more poems that may not be listed here.

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by Issa, Kobayashi
 His death poem:

 A bath when you're born,
 a bath when you die,
 how stupid....Read more of this...



by Issa, Kobayashi
 A cuckoo sings
to me, to the mountain,
 to me, to the mountain....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 All the time I pray to Buddha
I keep on
killing mosquitoes....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Blossoms at night,
and the faces of people
moved by music....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
than cormorants....Read more of this...



by Issa, Kobayashi
 Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Even on the smallest islands,
they are tilling the fields,
skylarks singing....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Having slept, the cat gets up,
yawns, goes out
to make love....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Hey, sparrow!
out of the way,
 Horse is coming....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 How much
are you enjying yourself,
tiger moth?...Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 I'm going out,
flies, so relax,
make love....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 In spring rain
a pretty girl
 yawning....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Last time, I think,
I'll brush the flies
from my father's face....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Napped half the day;
no one 
punished me!...Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Napping at midday
I hear the song of rice planters
and feel ashamed of myself....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 New Year's morning:
the ducks on the pond
quack and quack....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Not very anxious
to bloom,
my plum tree....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Summer night--
even the stars
are whispering to each other....Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 That wren--
looking here, looking there.
You lose something?...Read more of this...

by Issa, Kobayashi
 Writing **** about new snow
for the rich
is not art....Read more of this...


Book: Shattered Sighs