Long Kobayashi Poems

These are translations of some of the oldest Japanese waka, which evolved into tanka, renga and haiku. 

While you decline to cry,
high on the mountainside
a single stalk of plumegrass wilts.
—O no Yasumaro (circa 711), translation...

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Grasses wilt:
the braking locomotive
grinds to a halt
—Yamaguchi Seishi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, translation by Michael R. Burch

The first soft snow:
leaves of the awed jonquil
bow...

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Yosa Buson haiku translations

On the temple’s great bronze gong
a butterfly
snoozes.
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hard to describe:
this light sensation of being pinched
by a butterfly!
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Not to worry...

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THIS WORLD OF DEW

This world? 
Moonlit dew
flicked from a crane's bill.
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Seventy-one?
How long
can a dewdrop last? 
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Dewdrops beading grass-blades
die before...

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ZEN DEATH HAIKU XII

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

Both victor and vanquished are dewdrops:
flashes of light
briefly illuminating the void.
—Ouchi Yoaka, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael...

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Haiku Translations I

As the monks sip their morning tea,
chrysanthemums quietly blossom.
—Matsuo Basho, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

The fragrance of plum blossoms
on a foggy path:
the sun rising.
—Matsuo Basho, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

The sea...

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Are you the butterfly
while in my dreams
I flit after Soshi?
—Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

It's not at all anxious to bloom,
the plum tree at my gate.
—Kobayashi Issa, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The red...

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ZEN DEATH HAIKU X

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

Forbearing the night
with its growing brilliance: 
the summer moon.
—Tsukioka Yooshi (1839-1892) , loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem)  by...

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ZEN DEATH HAIKU XI

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

Above the garden
the camellia tree blossoms
whitely...
—Uejima Onitsura, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Moonlit hailstones: 
the night hawks return.
—Uejima Onitsura, loose translation...

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Petals I amass
with such tenderness
prick me to the quick.
? Kobayashi Issa, loose translation by Michael R. Burch
 
This world of dew
is a world of dew indeed;
and yet ...
? Kobayashi Issa, loose translation by Michael R....

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I waxed the floor too carefully—
the classroom still blue with youth I left behind.
Fresh chalk lined up like teeth I inhaled and exhaled.
Suspicion wore me like a suit, choking tight at the neck.

The sun laughs,...

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A box full of train tickets she saw
With her mother at the station door
She saw it belongs to the ticket man
And wanted to be as so
With a dream of a secret agent too
Ding dong, the...

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*Image of Opening by Pixabay.

"Never forget: we walk in hell, gazing at flowers." by, Kobayashi Issa

Transcendence

Into the dawn, one yearns to be normal,
A delicate breath of precious life gifts,
Self-assesses to be supernormal,

Advantageous climbing in phasing...

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5-7-5
Tragedy striking
all the children are dying-
A master prevailed!


4-5-4
Tragedy strikes
Children are dying-
Masters prevail!




7/6/2017

Kobayashi Issa as a child was cared for by his grandmother. Due to the death of his mother. When his grandmother passed he was...

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