Haiku with Yukari

atrium— April is delivered like a pizza a dog overtaking bikes― spring river scattering flowers on a window after bathing― nata de coco a long day― stretching out on an unpurchased bed a new employee standing like a life-size panel   an azalea night I might be poor or not living in the neighborhood in sweatpants on Showa Day the quiet distortion called home― flowering dogwood pushing a lettuce core in to hollow it out flower irises blooming at an elementary school with no one   wearing a serious T-shirt to go get checked a banana peel curved like a banana on the curtain ebb and flow of a night Dazai’s Day a house with roses a small tank drying up pulling a folding chair the flower mat slightly warps   a newly built house dozing in white spider’s afternoon forgetting your name yet not forgetting your perfume name in the shadows hydrangeas break each other apart an outer side like an inner side an insect net...

 Noise early summer people with a bag or a dog dog, dog, another dog that are called dogs of May   heads smile when struck clematises hands and foot passion flowers blooming in brightness the same hand is behind lacecap hydrangeas washing hair lively like a patient a small voice from a skinny child in summer dusk of water hands blooming on the glass   too many tin walls overflowing trumpet creepers when it turns golden clouds are broken rainy season

悲しみは体の仕事星月夜 sadness is the body's work starry moonlit nights 蜻蛉飛ぶ蜻蛉の中が狭すぎて a dragonfly flies because its inside is too small ぶらんこの子が真夜中を待つてゐる a child on a swing is waiting for midnight 花の宴君の代はりに夜が来て cherry blossom viewing the night came instead of you

Let me share the following tanka by Kaoru Natsukaze, which was contributed to a local newspaper in November 2024. とおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおおくの戦争 ／夏風かをる wars in farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr away (translated by me)  I think it satirically describes our apathetic attitudes towards the wars in "far away". Simple and powerful tanka. Some people pointed out that it must be based on Jiro Kato's tanka, which was written in 1991: にぎやかに釜飯の鶏ゑゑゑゑゑゑゑゑゑひどい戦争だった ／加藤治郎 chicken in a pot with rice in a lively manner eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee it was a terrible war (translated by me) 

Recently, Fay Aoyagi kindly translated one of my haiku and posted it on her blog . 春の夜の線路は北へ行く鎖骨／西生ゆかり the rail in a spring night is a collarbone going to north Compared to the original one, which has a rather dark atmosphere due to the strong impression of the kanji characters for “chain” (鎖) and “bone” (骨),  the English translation has a lighter sound and seems to be the beginning of a pleasant journey. In the same  blog , I also found Sayumi Kamakura's haiku, which describes a pale and solemn scene. 鶴ねむり眠れぬ天は雪を降らす／鎌倉佐弓 cranes sleep the insomniac sky sheds snow

 I have taken some of Koji Ooka's haiku from here and translated them. しばのとを たたきつづけて われとなる keep knocking on the brushwood door until I become myself いちじくの 葉に照らさるる 男かな a man― in the light of a fig leaf Although sometimes it is rigid and difficult, I like the mythic and religious mood in his haiku. Hope you like it!