Nominated for Excellent
very few left
to hug on New Year's Eve -
two white reflections
in the same cracked window,
Mt. Fuji and the old man
Nominated for Excellent
very few left
to hug on New Year's Eve -
two white reflections
in the same cracked window,
Mt. Fuji and the old man
First published in Entrevous Magazine, Canada, winning the 2023 award of the year in this category.
Editor: JOHN KINORY
Sunflowers
Long time ago, the old man lost his belongings along with his
personal library. Sometimes, he takes his walking stick and the
faded hat and goes down into the city to look for books. He knows an easy access point to the paper recycling bin, then piles everything there is to read into a bag and returns to his world of sunflower walls and cloud ceiling. From the hump of the horizon, streak lightnings spread out all over and the enamel sky cracks.
world, where to?
the truth lies
in sunflower fields
change of season -
children planting cherry trees
in the scorched orchard
the rain is over -
children playing badminton
over the barbed wire
air raid siren -
unfinished chalk pigeon
in the schoolyard
war orphan -
searching for a kindred spirit
in the woods
Inspired by my ten English haiku, Hidenori Hiruta translated them literally into Japanese short poems first of all.
As a result, four interpretative Japanese poems of 5, 7, 5 pattern are added to the English haiku as above. Some of them might be haiku(俳句), and others senryū(川柳).
And six of the English haiku are interpreted into Japanese tanka(短歌)poems of 5,7,5,7,7 pattern.
This is because English is different from Japanese.
compelled to leave –
a thistle from home
worn on the shawl
我が家去るショールに薊巻きしまま
2
where there’s hay,
that’s where I’m home –
rigged maps
干し草の匂う我が家や地図に無し
3
burnt orchard –
flying starlings scatter
cherry pits
焼け落ちし果樹園を飛ぶ椋鳥がサクランボ食べ種を散らばす
4
blind windows –
I follow the light
of the third eye
盲窓第三の目で光追ふ
5
forehead in the grass –
a caterpillar falls on
the tattooed butterfly
草むらに額現る毛虫かなタトゥーのつきし蝶に落ちけり
6
grazing land –
in the wake of grasshoppers,
acid rain
放牧地バッタに続き酸性雨
7
mankind, where to?
passing through ruins,
a duck with duckling
廃墟群アヒルとその子通り抜く我ら人類向かうのは何処
8
stranded dolphins –
we miss the hole point
of this act
座礁せしイルカの群れに考えるこの行動の本質如何に
9
napping
atop a haystack –
cricket concert
干し草の山の上にて昼寝する蟋蟀の鳴く音楽会に
10
road facing window –
a pile of medicines
next to a quince
Talking about strawberries all of the time is an online literary journal based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was founded by Malcolm Curtis in the summer of 2018.
Rustling shadows
Day after day, after day, after day, until one day...
And then, not even a day goes by and someone
(someone else) comes to clean up the place...
Few garbage bags: our memories.
rustling shadows –
an origami crane
Foșnet de umbre
Zi după zi, după zi, după zi, până într-o zi...
Apoi, după nici măcar o zi, vine cineva (altcineva) și face curățenie generală...
Câțiva saci menajeri: amintirile noastre.
foșnet de umbre –
un cocor origami
în tocător de foi