Four Haiku

Matsuo Basho 1644 (Near Ueno) – 1694 (Osaka)



Spring:
A hill without a name
Veiled in morning mist.

The beginning of autumn:
Sea and emerald paddy
Both the same green.

The winds of autumn
Blow: yet still green
The chestnut husks.

A flash of lightning:
Into the gloom
Goes the heron's cry.

Translated by Geoffrey Bownas And Anthony Thwaite

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 10, 2023

16 sec read
156

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXB CXD CDX AXX B
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 300
Words 53
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3, 1

Matsuo Basho

Matsuo Bashō was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. more…

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