These previously undiscovered classics by the haiku masters were first published in the Western world by the British haiku journal Presence, in issue #7, July 1998, page 8. They were discovered in June of 1996 by Michael Dylan Welch after a long evening of doing absolutely nothing.                    +                    +

 

 

                              Bashō:                 drainage ditch—

                                                             the sound of my kazoo

                                                             falling in

 

 

                              Buson:                  evening wind—

                                                             water laps the side

                                                             of my tin kazoo

  

                              Issa:                      hey, dragonfly

                                                             that’s my kazoo

                                                             you’re resting on

 

 

                              Shiki:                    summer river—

                                                             beside the bridge, the kazoo player

                                                             wades through water