Chrysanthemenzüchter
werden schließlich zu Sklaven
der Chrysanthemen

Yosa Buson (1716-1783)

when you grow chrysanthemums
you become a servant
of chrysanthemums

Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson. Translated by W.S. Merwin & Takako Lento. Port Townsend, Washington: Copper Canyon Press 2013. 169.

Chrysanthemum growers –
you are the slaves
of chrysanthemums!

The Essential Haiku. Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa. Edited and with Verse Translations by Robert Hass. New York: HarperCollins 1994. 100.