Matsuo Basho Haiku Translations
The first soft snow:
leaves of the awed jonquil
bow low
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Come, investigate loneliness!
a solitary leaf
clings to the Kiri tree
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The cheerful-chirping cricket
contends gray autumn's gay,
contemptuous of frost
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Whistle on, twilight whippoorwill,
solemn evangelist
of loneliness
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The sea darkening,
the voices of the wild geese:
my mysterious companions!
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The first chill rain:
poor monkey, you too could use
a woven cape of straw
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
This snowy morning:
cries of the crow I despise
(ah, but so beautiful!)
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
I wish I could wash
this perishing earth
in its shimmering dew
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Dabbed with morning dew
and splashed with mud,
the melon looks wonderfully cool.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The butterfly
perfuming its wings
fans the orchid
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Will we remain parted forever?
Here at your grave:
two flowerlike butterflies!
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Ballet in the air!—
two butterflies, twice white,
meet, mate, unite.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
A spring wind
stirs willow leaves
as a butterfly hovers unsteadily.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
As autumn deepens,
a butterfly sips
chrysanthemum dew.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Come, butterfly,
it's late
and we've a long way to go!
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
An ancient pond,
the frog leaps:
the silver plop and gurgle of water
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
An ancient pond sleeps...
untroubled by sound or movement...until...
suddenly a frog leaps!
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Explosion!
The frog returns
to its lily pad.
—Michael R. Burch original haiku
Lightning
shatters the darkness—
the night heron's shriek
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Let us arrange
these lovely flowers in the bowl
since there's no rice
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Like a heavy fragrance
snowflakes settle:
lilies on rocks
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
High-altitude rose petals
falling
falling
falling:
the melody of a waterfall.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Revered figure!
I bow low
to the rabbit-eared Iris.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Cold white azalea—
a lone nun
in her thatched straw hut
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Glimpsed on this high mountain trail,
delighting my heart—
wild violets
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
A simple man,
content to breakfast with the morning glories—
this is who I am.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Ah me,
I waste my meager breakfast
morning glory gazing!
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Morning glories blossom,
reinforcing the old fence gate.
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The morning glories, alas,
also turned out
not to embrace me
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Morning glories bloom,
mending chinks
in the old fence
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
I too
have been accused
of morning glory gazing...
—original haiku by by Michael R. Burch
Curious flower,
watching us approach:
meet Death, our famished donkey.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Spring has come:
the nameless hill
lies shrouded in mist
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The legs of the cranes
have been shortened
by the summer rains.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
These brown summer grasses?
The only remains
of "invincible" warriors...
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
An empty road
lonelier than abandonment:
this autumn evening
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Autumn darkness
descends
on this road I travel alone
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Taming the rage
of an unrelenting sun—
autumn breeze.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The sun sets,
relentlessly red,
yet autumn's in the wind.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
As autumn draws near,
so too our hearts
in this small tea room.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Late autumn:
my neighbor,
how does he continue?
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Winter in the air:
my neighbor,
how does he fare?
? Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Winter solitude:
a world awash in white,
the sound of the wind
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The year's first day...
thoughts come, and with them, loneliness;
dusk approaches.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Graven images of long-departed gods,
dry spiritless leaves:
companions of the temple porch
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
The temple bells grow silent
but the blossoms provide their incense?
A perfect evening!
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
See: whose surviving sons
visit the ancestral graves
white-bearded, with trembling canes?
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Like a glorious shrine—
on these green, budding leaves,
the sun's intense radiance.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
A raven settles
on a leafless branch:
autumn nightfall
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
A solitary crow
clings to a leafless branch:
autumn twilight
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Except for a woodpecker
tapping at a post,
the house is silent.
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Swallow flitting in the dusk,
please spare my small friends
buzzing among the flowers!
?Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch
Keywords/Tags: haiku, Japan, Japanese, nature, season, seasons, life
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