I\u2019ll swop you my wheatear
\nfor your ringed plover,
\nmy lapwing
\nfor your rock pippet,
\nthis bevy of seals
\nfor your noisy hanging cliff-garden
\nof two thousand nesting guillemots.
\nIf you can spare me two miles of pink thrift
\nI\u2019ll give you a broadside
\nof tammie nouries and all my spare bonxies.
\nAs for that plump rain-goose of yours
\nI\u2019ll swop you
\nthis sprig of marsh marigolds
\nand a hatful of eider chicks \u2013 do we have a deal?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He goes at walking pace,
\ntravels Japanese miles,
\none of which equals
\ntwo British miles<\/p>\n
Through mists
\nice and snow of the high altitude
\nhe climbs Mount Gisson
\nwith a sacred rope
\nof white paper noosed round his neck<\/p>\n
At the summit
\nhe sleeps
\non a bed of bamboo leaves<\/p>\n
At Support-yourself-on-a-stick Pass
\nhe wishes he had a horse<\/p>\n
At Yoshima
\nBasho is so overwhelmed
\nby the beauty of the cherry blossom
\nand the famous cherry blossom haiku
\nof earlier poets
\nhe cannot write one line,
\nscribe to the world though he is<\/p>\n
How shall a poet write?
\n In an instant,
\n like a woodcutter felling a tree<\/p>\n
Following no itinerary
\nhe crosses the ruins
\nof an ancient dog-shooting ground<\/p>\n
On the road to Senju Moon-pilgrim,
\nhe tells the band of concubines
\nwho asks him for alms
\nTrust in the Lord Buddha<\/em>
\ngives them zilch cash<\/p>\n
\nhe walks for over a thousand miles
\nuplands and lowlands
\nvillages and shrines
\nmountains north of Edo
\nalong the shores of the Sea of Japan
\nin all weathers
\ngathering up tomorrow\u2019s sky to keep it safe
\nand talking to ghosts of many poets
\n(the walk is a kind of s\u00e9ance)<\/p>\n