Translated: Basho's "Withered and bending"
by Frank Watson
Withered and bending,

Dejected world upside-down—

Bamboo of the snow


萎れ伏すや世はさかさまの雪の竹


Shiore-fusu ya

Yo wa saka-sama no

Yuki no take


Literal

[Withered/droop/dejected] [bend/bow/hide]

[World/age/society] [inverted/upside-down]

Snow’s bamboo


Probably based on a story of a mother who finds her son buried, frozen in the snow under the bamboo; a son dying before the mother is upside-down. The story was called “take no yuki,” meaning “snow of the bamboo,” while this haiku ends in reverse: “yuki no take,” meaning “bamboo of the snow.”

All writings and translations are Copyright © by Frank Watson, also writing as "Blue Flute" (2011-2014).
Year: 
2011