Issa translations 7
Clever as foxes,
the children
hiding amid plume grass.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Even plume grass
waves farewell at last
to autumn.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
On the sleeping dog
gently descends
a leaf-hat.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Avert your eyes
while I poop in your field,
little wren!
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This stand of trees:
my head
just as barren of leaves.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Lacking common sense
out-of-season flowers
bloom on my fence.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
All alone,
babbling nonsense,
I toast the departing year.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Kyoto:
even beneath bridges
beggars toast the departing year.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Living alone,
one bottle suffices
for toasting the departing year.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come what may,
trust the New Year to Buddha
despite his former failures.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A wind chime’s
bubbly babble
ends the year on a bright note.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
It takes two
temple nuns
to yank out one radish.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Berating
my heavy drinking,
the mountain cuckoo.
—Kobayashi Issa, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Copyright © Michael Burch | Year Posted 2026
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