古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音

古池や 「古池屋」 furu ike ya an ancient pond

蛙飛びこむ kawazu tobikomu a frog jumps in

水の音 mizu no oto the splash of water

— 松尾 芭蕉 Matsuo Bashō [1686]

When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Bashō, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash  —  at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.

— Thomas Merton

Basho’s frog and pond haiku has been translated many times by many authors. *****

The old pond, A frog jumps in: Plop! 

— Translated by Alan Watts ****

old pond a frog jumps into the sound of water 

— Translated by Jane Reichhold (Jane Reichold’s list of kigo.) ***

The old pond A frog jumped in, Kerplunk! 

— Translated by Allen Ginsberg (Ginsberg is most famous for his poem “Howl” and his singing collaboration with Kerouac and Cassady on “Pull My Daisy“). **

Breaking the silence Of an ancient pond, A frog jumped into water — A deep resonance. 

— Translated by 湯浅 信之 Yuasa Nobuyuki  

* Old pond — frogs jumped in — sound of water. 

— Translated by Lafcadio Hearn