the dawn of day —
on the tip of the barley leaf
the frost of spring

A cooling breeze---
and the whole sky is filled
with pine-tree voices.

roving dreams---
over charred fields,
the wind’s sound

Watching, I wonder
which poet could put down his quill ...
a perfect moon!

-

Tanimizu ya
ishi mo uta yomu
yamazakura

The stream in the valley;
Stones too sing songs
Under the cherry-blossoms.

-

Nyoppori to
aki no sora naru
fuji no yama

Towering alone
against the autumn sky---
mount Fuji

-

For some reason
there are long, and there are short
icicles

To finally know
the plum, use the whole heart too,
and your own nose

Fleeing people,
getting used to people -
baby sparrows

Shitagau ya
oto naki hana mo
mimi no oku

True obedience:
silently the flowers speak
to the inner ear

A voiceless flower
speaks to the obedient
in-listening ear

-

I know well
that the June rains ...
Just fall.

Bath water
Where shall I throw you?
Crickets singing in the grass

-

Tei-zen ni
shiroku saitaru
tsubaki kana

In the garden
Whitely blooming
The camellia

Silent the garden
where the camellia-tree
opens its whiteness

-

Kono aki wa
hiza ni ko no nai
tsukimi kana

This autumn
I’ll be looking at the moon
With no child on my knee

-

The leaping trout sees
far below, a few white clouds
as they flow