3 Haikus by Matsuo Basho 1644-94
Wild sparrows
In a patch of yellow rape,
Pretending to admire
The flowers.
Red, red is the sun,
Heartlessly indifferent to time,
The wind knows, however,
The promise of early chill.
No matter where I fall
On the road,
Fall will I to be buried
Among flowering bush-clovers.
Translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa
