Fukuda Chiyo-ni haiku translations 3
Fukuda Chiyo-ni Haiku
Fukuda Chiyo-ni was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period, also known as Kaga no Chiyo.
Having seen the moon
I can bid this planet
farewell.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The moon settled
in a flower-strewn stream ...
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Illuminating
my fishing line:
the midsummer moon.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
With the waning moon
silence enters the heart.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Leaves
like crows’ shadows
flirt with a lonely moon.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The moon
a morning blur
amid cherry blossoms
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
How contentedly they snore
in the boondocks:
full moon
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Returning
from moon-viewing:
we humans, voiceless.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The harvest moon
illuminates these snowdrifts
I trample.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
CHIYO-NI BUTTERFLY POEMS
The waterweed
washes away
unaware of the butterfly’s weight
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Ah butterfly,
what dreams do you ply
with your beautiful wings?
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A butterfly settles on
cherry blossoms:
nap time!
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The butterfly tip-toes at ebb-tide ...
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Along her path
butterflies flit,
front and back
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Voiceless
as a butterfly:
the Buddhist service
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Whirling its wings
the butterfly
creates its own wind ...
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Now and then
a dandelion intrudes
on a butterfly’s dreams
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Sometimes a butterfly
emerges from the mist ...
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Also a poet arranging words
with its airy wings—
the butterfly.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
To entangle
or unentangle the willow
is the wind’s will.
—Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Copyright ©
Michael Burch
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