The Haiku and Poems of
Shiba Sonome (1664-1726)

mushi no ne ya yo fukete shizumu ishi no naka
the insects’ chirp
as night deepens
sinks into the stones

longing for someone
I sit by the gate and draw
eyebrows on a melon

yo ni hito no shiranu hana ari miyama shii
some blossoms there are
that nobody sees—
an oak deep in the woods

ha no oto ni inu hoekakura arashi kana
dogs howling
at the sound of leaves—
storm on the way!

bald mountains
offering nothing
autumn can get a grip on

dirt crumbling
from the low hillside—
a bamboo bud

The child I carry
on my back licks my hair --
it's so hot!

Each time they roll in,
the beach waves break up
the plovers

Spilled
from a tree-searing wind
a bull's midday voice

discontented
violets have dyed
the hills also

I'm so busy
winter clouds can't stop
to rest

stumbling
on a rock
the warbler's call

short bio and haiku can be found at ahapoetry

Far Beyond the Field - translated by Makoto Ueda and Arnold P. Lutzker.
(Columbia University Press, 2003) includes a selection of Shiba Sonome's haiku.
read a review at modernhaiku.org