Translations Poems

Fukuda Chiyo-ni Haiku Translations 4

Fukuda Chiyo-ni Haiku Translations 4

The next seven autumn moon translations are dedicated to Stephen I. Hsu, who suggested the Chiyo-ni poems to me.

Keywords/Tags: autumn, moon, bright, walk, touch, nature, absence, angst, loneliness, solitude, understanding, distance, nearness

Bright autumnal moon,
but no matter how far I walked,
unreachable.
—Fukuda Chiyo-ni, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Bright autumnal moon,
but no matter

Matsuo Basho: English translations 3

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Life 1

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Winter 2

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about Winter 1

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Autumn 2

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.

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Autumn 1

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,

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Summer 2

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haku about Summer 1

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

Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haiku about Spring 2

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

Matsuo Basho English Translations: Spring 1

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

Jaun Elia English Translations II

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

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

Chinese Translations IV

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

Lao Tzu: English Translations IV

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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