1819
.名月や膝を枕の子があらば
meigetsu ya hiza [wo] makura no ko ga araba
harvest moon--
my lap would be a pillow
if my child were here
This haiku was written in Seventh Month, 1819. Its biographical context is important, because Issa's daughter, Sato, born the previous year, died of smallpox in Sixth Month of 1819--just a few weeks before Issa composed this poem. As he sits looking at the harvest moon--one of the most joyful occasions in the calendar for a haiku poet--the happy occasion is marred by a palpable absense. If only Sato were here... This sad poem reminds us of how precious children are to us; how, without them, the wonders of the universe, even the resplendent moon, seem drab and ordinary.
The word "my" doesn't appear in the Japanese but can be inferred.