Tis the first snow

by Matsuo Basho

Translated by William George Aston and published in A History of Japanese Literature, Chapter IV (1899). Tis the first snow was written by Matsuo Basho in 1686. Basho was considered the master of the haiku poetry form.

'Tis the first snow—
Just enough to bend
The gladiolus leaves

Japanese: （はつゆきやすいせんのはのたわむまで） hatsu yuki ya / suisen no ha no / tawamu made

Bashō wrote 水仙 (すいせん) = suisen — "narcissus" instead of "gladiolus"

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