Matsuo Basho Poems

How admirable!
to see lightning and not think
life is fleeting.
...

Stillness--
the cicada's cry
drills into the rocks.
...

A man, infirm
With age, slowly sucks
A fish bone.
...

The oak tree:
not interested
in cherry blossoms.
...

Yo no naka wa kutte hako shite nete okite
Sate sono ato wa shinuru bakari zo
...

First winter rain--
even the monkey
seems to want a raincoat.
...

A wild sea-
In the distance over Sado
The Milky Way
...

Fleas, lice,
a horse peeing
near my pillow.
...

Spring rain
leaking through the roof
dripping from the wasps' nest.
...

The dragonfly
can't quite land
on that blade of grass.
...