the whole town

David’s Englsh
the whole town sleeps
while the cormorants
toil

Issa 1817
hito mura ya u ni kasegasete yu^makura
一村やうにかせがせて夕枕

Issa ends the haiku with the image, yu^makura ("night pillows"). A more literally faithful but harder to picture translation would be: the whole town-- while the cormorants are made to work night pillows Japanese fishermen use cormorants. Tied to a tether, these sea birds dive for fish that they are forced to disgorge.

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sakuo renku and renga
何時の世も税を取る人取られる人.
ituno yo mo zei wo toru hito torareru hito

In every generation
there are tax robbers
and taxpayers