Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/388

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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.