Translations Poems - Poems about Translations

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 R. Burch Melancholy nub! The bamboo bud’s sad end. —Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about clouds, geese, departing, empty nests and huts, lonely, loneliness, drinking alone, sake, longing, loss, death, hawks, the moon, Japanese culture. As clouds drift apart, so we two separate: wild geese departing. —Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch The old nest deserted, how empty now my next-door neighbor’s hut. —Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch Yesterday? Departed, like...

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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 winter shower? So it goes. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch How...

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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 by Michael R. Burch Written for Basho’s dear friend Sora, who...

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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 the headless helmet, a chirping cricket. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R....

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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 Michael R. Burch Voices in the reeds? Ventriloquism of the autumn wind. —Matsuo Basho,...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about summer, trees, firefly, fireflies, cuckoos, rice fields, rice paddies, bush-clover, Iris, Irises, temple, temples, Japanese culture, light, daylight, lit, boat, boats. Fireflies turn our trees into well-lit lodges. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch A noontime firefly, dim by daylight, hides behind a pillar. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Firefly watching, the tipsy boatman rocks the...

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Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about summer, life, sun, sunshine, sunlight, melons, willows, rain, rivers, hats, shade, sad, sadness. Such coolness when shouldered: the summer’s first melon. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch A wicker basket shields the coolness of the first melon. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Morning dew: the muddy melon exudes coolness. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Early summer...

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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 birds’ world of flowers. —Matsuo Basho, translation by Michael R. Burch When planting, please...

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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 full: darkness increasing. —Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Spring rains so heavy they overflow...

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These are English translations of Urdu poems by Jaun Elia with themes of solitude, loneliness, alienation, love, life, death and loss. When you come, you will find me lost, for in my solitude there are dreams, nothing else. You desire to decorate my room, but in my room there are books, nothing else. These tyrannical books have done me a...

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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...

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CHINESE TRANSLATIONS IV These are English translations of Chinese poems about nature, the seasons, autumn, winter, spring, night, time, tears, flowers and love. Seeking a Mooring by Wang Wei loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch A leaf drifts through infinite space, a cold wind rends distant clouds. The river flows seaward, the tide repulses. Beyond the moonlit reeds, in unseen villages, I hear fullers’ mallets pounding...

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LAO TZU ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS IV The Roots of Turbulence by Lao Tzu, translation by Michael R. Burch Heaviness lies at the root of lightness; stillness begets turbulence. Thus the nobleman heads his caravan keeping a constant eye on his possession-laden wagons. At night he sleeps secure behind high-walled towers, undaunted and untroubled. But how can the ruler of ten thousand chariots discard the people so...

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LAO TZU ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS III The Valley Spirit by Lao Tzu, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch The valley Spirit never runs dry, the river to whom all waters run: the Spirit of our Primal Mother. Deeply rooting Heaven and Earth, to most eyes a delicate veil dimly seen, yet a never-failing Fountainhead. Adhere to the Feminine by Lao Tzu, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R....

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