[An ancient pond!]
translated from the Japanese by William George Aston
An ancient pond!
With a sound from the water
Of the frog as it plunges in.
From A History of Japanese Literature (William Heinemann, 1899). This poem is in the public domain.
translated from the Japanese by William George Aston
The cry of the cicada
Gives us no sign
That presently it will die.
translated from the Japanese by William George Aston
’Twas the new moon!
Since then I waited—
And lo! to-night!
[I have my reward!]
translated from the Japanese by William George Aston
Ah! the waving lespedeza,
Which spills not a drop
Of the clear dew!