Kobayashi Issa
Even with insects—
some can sing,
some can't.
Blossoms at night,
and the faces of people
moved by music.
The toad! It looks like
it could belch
a cloud.
His death poem:
A bath when you're born,
a bath when you die,
how stupid.
Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
than cormorants.
A huge frog and I,
staring at each other,
neither of us moves.
Having slept, the cat gets up,
yawns, goes out
to make love.
Ducks bobbing on the water—
are they also, tonight,
hoping to get lucky?
Asked how old he was,
the boy in the new kimono
stretched out all five fingers.
A cuckoo sings
to me, to the mountain,
to me, to the mountain.
Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.
Writing shit about new snow
for the rich
is not art.