On a barren branch
a raven has perched –
autumn dusk
Old pond…
a frog leaps in
water’s sound
Fuji alone
remains unburied:
the young leaves!
Wild mustard flowers –
in the east, the moon
in the west, the sun
Pearls of dew!
In every single one of them
I see my home
Fool of a cat!
Broken beggar as he is –
he shouts his joy!
Slowly, so slowly
climbing up Mount Fuji,
a snail
This world of dew
is only a world of dew...
and yet, and yet...
White butterfly
darting among pinks –
whose spirit?
Men are disgusting –
they argue over
the price of orchids!
