Haiku by Buson and Ryokan

菜の花や
月は東に
日は西に

— 蕪村

Rape blossoms
Moon in the east
Sun in the west

— Buson

ぬすびとや
取り残されし
窓の月

— 良寛

The thief
left the moon
in the window

— Ryokan

NOTES:

The Ryokan poem more literally reads, in straight-forward terms, “The moon in the window was left behind by the thief,” or, more poetically, “The thief, what he left behind, moon in the window.” I prefer finding a balance between these two approaches with something that sounds both natural and poetic.