1820
.えどの水呑々馬も蚊屋に寝る
edo no mizu nomi-nomi uma mo kaya ni neru
even the poor
workhorses of Edo sleep...
in mosquito nets!
In this and in many poems Issa marvels at the opulence of the Shogun's city, Edo (today's Tokyo).
All translations © 1991-2010 by David G. Lanoue, rights reserved.