I came across this haiku by Buson today. It’s a spring poem and we are in autumn now, you say? True. But it’s fun and we want fun this week.
No underrobes,
bare ass exposed –
gust of spring wind.
here is another translation:
With no underrobes,
bare butt suddenly exposed
a gust of spring wind
I prefer the first translation. It’s straight forward and simple. Which do you like better?
The first one: no unneeded words, stronger. And I prefer “ass” over “butt” as a word. At age 5, I refused to attend Sunday school because of the teacher’s name:. Mrs. Butt!
However, my imagination naturally follows the thought of Ottmar walking in the breeze without underrobes! :-) :-)
I also prefer the first. The extra words are not necessary.