H3001 Haiku by Buson – A flash of lightning …
by Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase
A flash of lightning!
The sound of dew
Dripping down the bamboos [1]
|
inazuma ni koboruru oto ya take no tsuyu |
稲妻に こぼるる音や 竹の露 |
| Buson | 蕪村 |
Blyth writes:
As Buson stands in the bamboo forest in the early morning, there is a flash of lightning; the whole of nature seems in a state of tension, the mind of the listener with it. At this moment of suspense, the drip-drip of dew falling through the bamboo grove is felt so deeply, it can hardly be called hearing. [1]
W. C. Merwin suggests the translation:
In the flash of lightning
I hear the dewdrops rolling
down the bamboo leaves [2]
Makoto Ueda suggests the translation:
at a flash
of lightning, the sound of dew
falling from a bamboo [3]
References:
[1] 700.
