Famous Bird Haikus translated from Japanese
Many of the following famous bird haikus were written by Japanese haiku masters Matsura Basho and Kobayashi Issa.
Note that these are translated from Japanese to English, so they may not work out to the standard 5, 7, 5 syllable format.
Autumn Eve
On a withered branch
-Matasura Basho
A crow is sitting
This autumn eve.
Matasura Basho is one of the four Japanese masters of haiku of the Edo period.
Plum Tree
the bird is singing
-Kobayashi Issa
but it ain’t blooming…
plum tree
Issa is another of the four Japanese great haiku artists.
In this poem, the bird refers to the nightingale, which is associated with plums in Japan.
Birdsong
cooling under the eaves
-Issa
and just as cool…
birdsong
Isn’t the metaphor between birdsong and cool air magical?
Issa is a pen name, and it means “cup of tea.”
Blossoms
colorful birds
-Issa
set free in the trees…
blossoms
While the imagery is gorgeous on its own, this haiku also refers to the practice of setting birds free at funerals and memorial services.
Birds in the clouds
birds in the clouds
-Issa
people in the sea…
a holiday
An elegant description of everyday life
Evening
evening–
-Issa
a bird of prey flies home
into blossoms
Beautiful imagery of spring.
Orphan
alone he cries
-Issa
the motherless bird…
autumn dusk
Like the motherless bird, Issa was also an orphan.
Bird Wings
bird wings
-Issa
brush against the eaves…
winter cold
I picture birds huddling against a house to stay warm on a snowy night
Tomorrow
bird’s nest–
-Issa
tomorrow the pine by the gate
will be cut down
The bird builds its nest, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. This is an example of Buddhist impermanence.
Perfect spring day
birds singing
-Issa
butterflies flitting…
old tatami mat
Haiku is traditionally tied to a specific season and observations of everyday life, particularly nature
Thank you
mountain field–
-Issa
“Nice job of seeding!”
sing the birds
The birds thank the farmers for their feast
Autumn
autumn heavens–
-Issa
for one little bird
so vast
Travel
migrating birds–
-Issa
how many of your flocks
have overtaken me?
While Issa walks along on his journey, flocks of migrating birds pass him by.
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Shy bird haiku
birdsong in bamboo grass–
-Issa
too shy
for the fence
A fledgling bird sings while hiding in the bamboo grass instead of displaying himself on the fence
First Song
from this bird
-Issa
the year’s first song
rises
Migration
a pretty bird
-Issa
passes in silence…
migrating
Butterflies
caged bird–
-Issa
watching the butterfly
with envy
Another translation reads:
How sadly the bird in his cage/ Watches the butterflies
-Don’t Tell the Scarecrow and Other Japanese Poems
Spring
for the budding trees’ spring
-Issa
a little bird
gushes song
Temple
a bird making a nest
-Issa
a temple being built…
when will they finish?
Mountains
“Come live, live
-Issa
in the mountains!”
little birds call
Red berry
the red berry
-Issa
catches a bird’s eye too…
on the fence
Who will get the berry, Issa or the bird?
Mountain
Far, far away,
-Taneda Santōka
A bird crosses over
The snow-covered mountains
Japanese author and poet Taneda Santoka is known for free verse haiku, which does not conform to the formal rules of haiku
The Crow
The crow has flown away:
-Natsume Soseki
swaying in the evening sun,
a leafless tree
Soseki was a Japanese novelist known for haikus and fairy tales.
Tis the cuckoo
Tis the cuckoo—
by Nishiyama Sōin, translated by William George Aston
Listen well !
How much soever gods ye be.
Japanese poet Nishiyama Soin was known as one of the fathers of haiku. He infused poetry with aspects of freedom making it accessible to common people
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Famous bird haikus in English
Many English-speaking authors take liberties with the format and number of syllables in a haiku.
Birds singing
Birds singing
-Jack Kerouac
In the dark
Rainy dawn
American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac was known for his novel On the Road. He also experimented with various haiku formats.
“Above all, a haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi pastorella.”
Jack Kerouac
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Owl’s shadow
clouds over the moon
-John Knight
wind and owl’s shadow
calling
Flight of cranes
flight of the cranes
-Elizabeth Searle Lamb
surely just dream but
this white feather
American poet Elizabeth Searle Lamb is known as the American first lady of haiku.
Silence
Silence
-Susan Marie LaVallée
under the bird
unhatched eggs
Tracks
my tracks… their tracks…
-Leatrice H. Lifshitz
suddenly face to face
with returning geese
Heron
leafless trees
-Leatrice H. Lifshitz
and beyond them leafless trees
and the highway
at the edge
just as I let my hair down
the blue heron flies
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Four o’clock Bird
that four o’clock bird–
-Leatrice H. Lifshitz
strangers
we share the dawn
sunset–
the butterfly and I
just in time
Greenfinch
song of a greenfinch;
-Martin Lucas
a ray of sun on cold steps
and a few snowdrops…
Peewit
light rain …
-Martin Lucas
sweeping the moor
the peewit’s cry
seed of the reedmace –
the skylark rising
into a wide sky
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Ice singing
a moment before sunrise –
-Martin Lucas
ice singing
beneath the swans’ feet
Sparrowhawk
whatever it is,
-Martin Lucas
the swallows’ word
for sparrowhawk —
I hear them crying it
over the fields
Tern’s Shadow
a tern’s shadow
-Maya Lyubenova
darts across the beach
herring clouds
Everlasting Beauty
The mockingbird sings,
-Afrânio Peixoto
Always the same song:
The beautiful does not tire.
Sparrow
A wheat ear
-Zvonko Petrović
a sparrow rocks itself
with its feast.
A song
a song for every direction
-Wally Swist
mockingbird atop
the weathervane
Wally Swist is an American poet known for poems about nature and spirituality
Voices of geese
out of the blowing reeds
-Wally Swist
and swirling mist
voices of geese
Plover
Dry, summer day;
-Robert Spiess
chalk-white plover mute
on a mid-stream rock
Great blue heron
A great blue heron,-
-Robert Spiess
the river’s other bank
white with trillium
Geese
Patches of snow
-Robert Spiess
mirrored in the flowing stream;
a long wedge of geese
Crows
crows caw
-Donna Bauerly
never afraid to challenge
silence
Birds Punctuate the Days
Period
Joyce Clement
One blue egg all summer long
Now gone
Mallard
one lone(ly) mallard
—James Ripley
ignored by his own echo
quacks again, hoping
The Wind
Searching on the wind
-James Hackett
The hawk’s cry…
Is the shape of its beak
Sparrow
Many strains of sparrow
-James Hackett
there are, yet the same fall theme
graces them all
Tall smoke
Tall smoke
-James Hackett
from the cabin far below
centers the hawk
Proud eagle
Proud eagle all set
-James Hackett
to leave – stays on to defy
the attacking crows
Alone
Never more alone
-James Hackett
the eagle, than now surrounded
by screaming crows
Sound of fall
All of a sudden
-James Hackett
every bird becomes silent
the sound of fall
Bitter morning
A bitter morning
-James Hackett
sparrows sitting together
without any necks
Deep winter
Deep winter, and yet
-James Hackett
the chickadee still chirps and sings
his cheerfulness
Slowly
Slowly emerging
-James Hackett
a world of sun and colors
heralded by birds
Empty the night
Empty the night seems
-James Hackett
yet endless flights of birds
calligraph the moon
Spring!
Spring! The warbler sings
-James Hackett
with an exuberance
that spreads his wings
Hummingbird
Hummingbird teases
-James Hackett
then escapes in a straight line
full of right angles
Mountain wind
On the mountain wind
-James Hackett
the call of an eagle
soaring far beyond
Sparrow
The more sparrow climbs
-James Hackett
to the top of that reed
the lower he gets
Halo
With every gust of sun
a halo of golden down
surrounds the hawk
Spring in the hedgerows
—Sean Hickey
Magpies busy canceling
Fresh twitter accounts
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More Famous Bird Haikus
Flashing silver
Flashing silver
–Mark Miller, New South Wales, Australia
The plunging waves
Of feeding terns
Cormorants
cormorants
Alison Woolpert, Santa Cruz, California
skim the shimmer
—summer sea
Swept away
swept away
Bernadette Duncan, Hausen, Germany
by the storyline…
wild geese
Dusk
dusk
P M F Johnson, Minneapolis, Minnesota
crows gather in
the silence
Stillness
stillness on the lake
Irena Szewczyk, Warsaw, Poland
a lone swan
stirs the stars
Silent meadow
silent meadow
Carly Siegel Thorp, Sterling, Massachusetts
the swoop of an owl
etched in snow
Snowmelt
snowmelt
Jared Del Rosso, Denver, Colorado
the magpies
not yet paired
Yes
the yes of warblers between trees
Agnes Eva Savich, Austin, Texas
Gossip
backyard gossip
W. S. McCaleb, St. Louis, Missouri
hummingbirds flitting
from feeder to feeder
Skateboard
skateboard park
Christopher Herold, Port Townsend, Washington
finches ride the wind
to a tree
Colour
the colour
John Barlow, Ormskirk, England
of this winter morning
a raven’s wind-carried call
Sweetgrass
coiled sweetgrass
Renée Owen, Sebastopol, California
the earthy scent
of a meadow lark’s song
Meandering
meandering creek
Marianne Sahlin, Gothenburg, Sweden
the soft bend
of the swan’s neck
Diagnosis
diagnosis—
Carolyn Hall, San Francisco, California
wing whistle
of a mourning dove
Caught
caught by the tide
Jacquie Pearce, Vancouver, British Columbia
what the herons
tried to tell me
Scalloped edge
the scalloped edge
Tanya McDonald, Woodinville, Washington
of the pie plate
blackbird song
Chilly
chilly morning
Alison Woolpert, Santa Cruz, California
the shorebirds
all on one leg
Cold
cold damp morning
Dave Russo, Cary, North Carolina
charred wood
in the raven’s call
Calling
calling on her
Elmedin Kadric, Helsingborg, Sweden
to hear me out
spring blackbird
Let-go garden
let-go garden
Sarah M. Strong, Auburn, Maine
nothing but jewelweed
and hummingbirds
Hayfield
hayfield breeze
LeRoy Gorman, Napanee, Ontario, Canada
a lilt
in the meadowlark’s trill
Baby sparrow
baby sparrow
Annette Makino, Arcata, California
the thin line between
falling and flying
Wrap up- famous bird haikus
While this collection of famous bird haikus may not follow the standard convention of three lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables, they are enchanting, beautiful perspectives of nature, birds, and everyday life.
