Best Matsuo Poems

I find you in an old silent pond,
The imagery you've left will outlive all,
With nature,your immortal bond
You will stand like a kiri tree tall.

You, the gem of haiku,
Your name be echoed in Fuji's peak,
Mogami river shall chant your lines
Your praise be sung by the Cuckoo.
The...

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A morning spell 
freshly proposed  
comes quietly in 

yesterday's ambient air   
pushes out of the screen 
archaic puffs of stale   

what meanders out   
is the remnants of me  
before the crisis   

caught between  
hope...

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Dusk-gliding swallow, 
please spare my small friends
flitting among the flowers! 
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

A bee emerging
from deep within the peony's hairy recesses
flies off, sated
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

That dying cricket, 
how he goes on about his life! 
—Matsuo Basho translation...

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Matsuo Basho New Haiku Translations

Air ballet:
twin butterflies, twice white,
meet, match & mate
—Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch 

Denied transformation
into a butterfly,
autumn worsens for the worm
—Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch 

Dusk-gliding swallow,
please spare my small friends
flitting among the flowers!
—Matsuo Basho, loose...

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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....

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BASHO
Three hundred years passed—
Basho's frog still goes kerplunk. 
He's still much with us. 

Three hundred years passed—
Basho's frog still goes kerplunk. 
Can you hear him yet?

Three hundred years passed—
Basho's frog still jumps— 
kerplunk. 
Can't you hear him now?

Basho could hear it. 
A frog, strangely eternal,
an...

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Matsuo Basho
My brother, it’d snowed so much
That the Sun had died.

Poems are vital
For a better Society
Du Fu is happy.

Su Shi is proud too
Yes, Poetry is important
For the Universe.

Copyright © December 2023, Hébert Logerie, all rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.



...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about winter, snow, snowball, home, fire, children, fun, frost, hail, fish, ice fishing.

The year’s first snowfall;
such happiness to be
at home in my hut.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Fire-making friend,
let me show you something grand:
a huge snowball!
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about autumn, fall, sea, autumn wind, harvest moon, dark, darkness, dawn, day, life.

First of autumn:
the sea and the rice fields
the same green hue.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The autumn wind
like a ventriloquist
projects its piercing voice.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about birds, flowers, candles, life, death.

Naptime!
But my drowsiness is nixed
by busybody warblers.
—Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Carolers:
the sparrows smile
at their warbling.
—Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Giving thanks to the flowers
for brightening my visit:
farewell.
—Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael...

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Matsuo Basho English Translations of haiku about spring, birds, bats, butterflies, flowers, sun, cherry.

Seeing them naked
almost makes me caress
the wanton flowers.
—Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch

As temple bells fade
flowers strike their fragrance
into the silence.
—Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch

The bat also emerges
into the...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about winter, cold, rain, rains, frost, frosts, snow, snowflakes, wind, children, childhood, hail, hail stones, winter life. 

Mushroom-gathering,
rushing to beat
cold evening rains.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Ceremonious
hailstones
assail my hinoki hat.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Caught hatless
in a...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about autumn, fall, falling, trees, leaves, leaving, goodbye, rice, moon, moonlight, words.

Reverential tears:
the falling leaves
bid their trees goodbye.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Plates and bowls
gleaming dimly in the darkness:
evening coolness.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Twice the pity:
beneath...

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Matsuo Basho Haiku: English Translations of haiku about seasons, spring, rain, moon, flowers, blossoms, wind, river, etc.

Blame the rainy season
for my absence,
old friend Moon.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

For yet a little while,
the pale moon
floating among blossoms...
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Moon past...

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These are original haiku by Michael R. Burch and his translations of haiku by the Japanese masters Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Masaoka Shiki, and others. 

Am I really this old,
so many ghosts
beckoning?
—Michael R. Burch

Sleepyheads!
I recite my haiku
to the inattentive lilies.
—Michael R. Burch

The sky tries to...

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