Carpe Diem Universal Jane #7 Basho (the translations)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is Wednesday again and I am happy to bring you a new episode of Universal Jane, our weekly feature in which we honor Jane Reichhold. In one of our earlier posts this week I shared a nice haiku by Basho in a beautiful translation by Jane Reichhold. I love to reproduce that haiku here again.

in one house
prostitutes lie down to sleep
bush clover and the moon

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Jane was the connoisseur of the Basho translations and with her book "The Complete Haiku of Basho" she published all Basho's haiku, and I loved it. As you all know I see Basho as my sensei and I hope he will be proud on what I have accomplished with Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. I was honored that Jane mentioned CDHK "the best website on haiku" and I am grateful for her words.

She was my guide and mentor in the world of the smallest poem on our globe, haiku. And she will stay in my heart forever.

Here are a few other haiku translatioons of Basho's haiku by Jane Reichhold. Just to inspire you.

rabbit-ear iris
how much it looks like
its image in water

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

a morning of snow
only the onions in the garden
blaze the trail

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

during the night
the bamboo freezes
a morning of frost

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

This Universal Jane episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 20th at noon (CET).