Haiku Translations III

These are original haiku by Michael R. Burch and his translations of haiku by the Japanese masters Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Masaoka Shiki, and others. Am I really this old, so many ghosts beckoning? —Michael R. Burch Sleepyheads! I recite my haiku to the inattentive lilies. —Michael R. Burch The sky tries to assume your eyes’ azure but can’t quite pull it off. —Michael R. Burch The sky tries to assume your eyes’ arresting blue but can’t quite pull it off. —Michael R. Burch Early robins get the worms, cats waiting to pounce. —Michael R. Burch Two bullheaded frogs croaking belligerently: election season. —Michael R. Burch An enterprising cricket serenades the sunrise: soloist. —Michael R. Burch A single cricket serenades the sunrise: solo violinist. —Michael R. Burch My life: how little remains of a night so brief? —Masaoka Shiki, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Masaoka Shiki struggled with tuberculosis and died at age 35. Yesterday’s snows that fell like cherry blossoms are mudpuddles again. —Koshigaya Gozan, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I write, erase, revise, erase again, and then... suddenly a poppy blooms! —Katsushika Hokusai, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Vanishing spring: songbirds lament, fish weep with watery eyes. —Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Wearily, I enter the inn to be welcomed by wisteria! —Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Pale moonlight: the wisteria’s fragrance seems equally distant. —Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch By such pale moonlight even the wisteria's fragrance seems distant. —Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Pale moonlight: the wisteria’s fragrance drifts in from afar. —Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Pale moonlight: the wisteria’s fragrance drifts in from nowhere. —Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Plum flower temple: voices ascend from the valleys. —Natsume Soseki, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch limping to the grave under the sentence of death, should i praise ur LORD? think i’ll save my breath! –michael r. burch Because you made a world where nothing matters, our hearts lie in tatters. —Michael R. Burch