Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/388

Haiku by Bashō

and His School

 

Haranaka ya mono ni mo tsukazu naku hibari	On the moor: from things detached completely— how the skylark sings!
Kane tsukanu mura wa nani wo ka haru no kure	A village where they ring no bells!—oh, what do they do at dusk in spring?
Chō tori no shiranu hana ari aki no sora	To bird and butterfly it is unknown, this flower here: the autumn sky.
Ara umi ya Sado ni yokotau ama-no-gawa	How rough a sea! and, stretching over Sado Isle, the Galaxy….
Yagate shinu keshiki wa miezu semi no koe	Very soon they die— but of that there is no sign in the locust-cry.
Hiya-hiya to kabe wo fumaete hirune kana	How very cool it feels: taking a noonday nap, to have this wall against my heels.

Invitation to Etsujin

Futari mishi yuki wa kotoshi mo furikeru ka	Snow that we two saw together—this year is it fallen anew?
Inazuma ya yami no kata yuku goi no koe	A sudden lightning gleam: off into the darkness goes the night heron’s scream.