Issa Translations II
These are English translations of Issa haiku about the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter.
Autumn wind ...
She always wanted to pluck
the reddest roses
?Kobayashi Issa translation by Michael R. Burch
Issa wrote the haiku above after the death of his daughter Sato with the note: “Sato, girl, 35th day, at the grave.”
In this world where I was born
every rose hides a thorn
that pricks me to the quick.
?Kobayashi Issa translation by Michael R. Burch
Spring returns:
more excuses for foolishness
from this fool.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Pretty
fresh-faced girls
multiplying like spring!
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
These silent summer nights
even the stars
seem to whisper.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Lit
by the lightning-flash:
spring snow-fall.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Winter breeze:
snowflakes flutter down
like confetti.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
The old banner
flaps lonely and cold
in the winter thicket.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
If you cross it,
cross carefully and lightly:
winter ice.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Safe beneath the ice,
the cat’s eyes follow
crazy fish.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Steering me home
to my hut:
winter wind and rain.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Teased by the winter wind,
the pig giggles
in its sleep.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
The winter wind
generously
sweeps my gate.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Winter night:
scratching at my window,
a banished cat.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Peonies blossom;
the world is full of fibbers.
?Kobayashi Issa translation by Michael R. Burch
Unaware of these degenerate times,
cherry blossoms abound!
?Kobayashi Issa translation by Michael R. Burch
Composed like the Thinker, he sits
contemplating the mountains:
the sagacious frog!
—Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Smug boss
plopped on his throne:
pompous bullfrog!
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Serene-faced
contemplating the stars:
Buddha-frog.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Standing stone-still
for the horse to smell:
Buddha-frog.
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Such a racket!
Will I be your next meal,
cawing crows?
?Kobayashi Issa, translation by Michael R. Burch
Tags: winter, wind, ice, snow, frog
Copyright ©
Michael Burch
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