Classic Haiku

The autumn gloaming deepens into night;
Black ’gainst the slowly-fading orange light,
On withered bough a lonely crow is sitting.

Trans. by Clara A. Walsh

The Ruins of Takadachi Fort

Ah, summer grasses wave !
The warriors’ brave deeds were a dream !

Bash

A single match
Makes darkness flinch.

By Mannen

An Epitaph Upon Himself

I strove with none, for none was worth my strife;
Nature I loved, and next to Nature, Art;
I warmed both hands before the fire of life:
It sinks; and I am ready to depart.

By Landor

Ah! he is not a common man
Who turns to a flowerless tree.

By Onitsura

I sit up or lie down and yet,
How large is the mosquito-net !

By Ukihashi (a poetess)

That rogue called Love having left me,
How cold snow feels to me!

By Jakushi

How the skylark soars,
Treading on the cloud,
Inhaling the haze!

By Shiki

My eyes which had seen all came back,
Back to the white chrysanthemums.

By Issh

The snow upon my hat
Feels light, being mine own.

By Kikaku