Paraphrases

I can't call them "translations" because I don't read Japanese, but pondering trasliterated haiku in saijiki entries and comparing other translations makes my mind arrange them too.


Basho

Old pond
A frog jumps in -
Ah, the sound of water.

Lonely road
No one to greet
This autumn evening.

Autumn meets winter
Perhaps it's time
I met my neighbor.

This autumn -
What brings on thoughts of age?
A bird-pierced cloud.


Buson

White chrysanthemum,
The scissors hold their snip
A moment.

Dawn -
Cormorant-dodging fish
Swim in the shallows.

A painting for sale
A swallow contributes a dropping
As it flies away.

Dripping nose
Alone at the Go board
Long night, and cold.

The mountain guide
Has nothing to do
With cherry blossoms.

Issa

Musashi Plain
In it, in an inn,
An insect cage.

The cricket, too
Had to make adjustments.
These city people!

New Year's treats -
Why not celebrate with them now?
Spring journey.