User:HeatherQuintal

Seasonal Haiku: A Sampling from Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827)

Winter

Hakuba, Japan

the door latch

rusting scarlet...

winter rain

.かけがねの真赤に錆びて時雨哉

still I see them

how they were...

bare winter trees

.今見れば皆欲目也枯木立

evening of winter rain--

a rice field crane

stands tall

.夕時雨すっくり立や田鶴

Spring

Lake Biwa, Japan

spring begins

as it has deigned to do

for a thousand ages

.初春や千代のためしに立給ふ

spring peace--

after rain, a gang war

garden sparrows

.長閑や雨後の縄ばり庭雀

a shortcut through

the temple with permission...

spring butterfly

.通り抜ゆるす寺也春のてふ

Summer

Mt. Akanagi, Nikko, Tochigi. Japan.

at my gate--

one straw mat

my summer room

.我門や蓙一枚のなつ座敷

tucking her in

out I go...

summer moon

.寝せ付て外へは出たり夏の月

the sky colors

of dawn have changed

to summer clothes

.曙の空色衣かへにけり

Autumn

Mt. Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan.

for the big

chrysanthemum too

autumn ends quickly

.大菊の秋もずんずとくれにけり

autumn rain--

he's just like me

the snail

.秋雨や我にひとしきかたつぶり

the little pine tree

puts on a show...

autumn wind

.松苗のけばけばしさよ秋の風