Michael Burch Poet Haiku

Zen Death Haiku Vii

ZEN DEATH HAIKU VII

These are my modern English translations of Japanese Zen Death Haiku. 

Stricken ill on a journey, 
in dreams I go wandering
withered moors.
—Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael R. Burch

Today, catching sight of the mallards
crying over Lake Iware: 
Must I too vanish into the clouds? 
—Prince Otsu, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael R. Burch

This world—to what may we compare it? 
To autumn fields darkening at dusk, 
dimly lit by lightning flashes.
—Minamoto no ago, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

This world—
to what may we compare it? 
To autumn fields
darkening at dusk
illuminated by lightning flashes.
—Minamoto no ago, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

This world—to what may we liken it? 
To autumn fields lit dimly at dusk, 
illuminated by lightning flashes.
—Minamoto no ago, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch
 
Like a half-exposed rotten log
my life, which never flowered, 
ends barren.
—Minamoto Yorimasa, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael R. Burch

Overtaken by darkness, 
I will lodge under a tree's branches; 
cherry blossoms will cushion me tonight.
—Taira no Tadanori, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

Overtaken by darkness, 
I will lodge under a cherry tree's branches; 
flowers alone will bower me tonight.
—Taira no Tadanori, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

Let me die in spring
beneath the cherry blossoms
while the moon is full.
—Saigyo, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

There is no death, as there is no life.
Are not the skies cloudless
And the rivers clear? 
—Taiheiki Toshimoto, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by Michael R. Burch

All five aspects of my fleeting human form
And the four elements of existence add up to nothing: 
I bare my neck to the unsheathed sword
And its blow is but a breath of wind...
—Suketomo, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael R. Burch

Keywords/Tags: Haiku, Zen, Japan, Japanese, translation, life, death, aging, time, pain, sorrow, lament, age, analogy, angst, animal, anxiety, autumn

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