1801
.父ありて明ぼの見たし青田原
chichi arite akebono mitashi aodabara
if my father were here--
dawn colors
over green fields
This haiku appears at the end of Chichi no shûen nikki ("The Journal of My Father's Last Days"), a journal in which Issa narrates the death of his father. Hiroshi Kobori comments: it is before sunrise and the sky is gradually changing to brighter transparence. "Still dark on the surface of the earth, Issa recognizes the rice field to be green. His consciousness focuses on the future of himself faced with his father's death."
All translations © 1991-2010 by David G. Lanoue, rights reserved.