translated from the Japanese by William George Aston

The cry of the cicada
Gives us no sign
That presently it will die.

From A History of Japanese Literature (William Heinemann, 1899) by W. G. Aston. This poem is in the public domain.

translated from the Japanese by William George Aston

An ancient pond!
With a sound from the water
Of the frog as it plunges in.

 

 

                                            

From A History of Japanese Literature (William Heinemann, 1899). This poem is in the public domain.

The light of a candle
               is transferred to another candle—
               spring twilight.

From Haiku Master Buson by Yosa Buson. Copyright © 2007 by Yosa Buson, translated by Edith Shiffert. Reprinted by permission of White Pine Press.

love between us is
speech and breath. loving you is
a long river running.

From Like the Singing Coming Off the Drums. Copyright © 1998 by Sonia Sanchez. Used with the permission of Beacon Press.