On August 3, we received an e-mail from Mr. Roy Lindquist in Norway, saying “ I just wonder if I could have any future in your Akita International Haiku Network.”
We at once answered his e-mail, saying “ It’s our great pleasure to share haiku with each other on the website.”
Since then we’ve been sharing haiku or comments through the linking websites.
According to his self-introduction, he just recently began writing haiku and he is only a new writer of haiku. We post his two haiku first of all.
Man reflects from heart
burned charcoal still warm
distant song
distant melody from mother’s heart
gray hair
still listening
These two haiku of his were written for 徳川元子(Tokugawa Motoko), who was a writer of 『遠いうた－徳川伯爵夫人の七十五年』(Tooi uta- Tokugawa hakushaku fujin no nana juugo nen), ‘Distant Song : 75 years as Countess of Tokugawa’ .
Mr. Roy Lindquist met Mrs. Motoko Tokugawa, the late Countess Tokugawa, in 1968, when he was a student, and showed her around in Oslo as a guide.
During her stay in Oslo, he was given a Japanese name, 藤枝輝雄 (Fujieda Teruo), so he thinks of her as his mother. He was presented with her book in 1982.
Mr. Roy Lindquist visited Japan twice in 1969 and 1972, and he met Mrs. Motoko Tokugawa in Tokyo. They had been corresponding with each other for more than 20 years until she passed away in Tokyo in 1989.
Remembering his stays in Japan, he wrote some haiku.
deep bow
lady not forgotten
respect of the past
last iris bloom
the woman strikes a match
in the Meiji garden pavilion
melancholy Koto tunes
face disappears
chrysanthemum embroidery on old wedding dress
Now Mr. Roy Lindquist has his own site: http://haikuroy.blogspot.com, where he publishes his own haiku almost every day. He is such an energetic haiku poet.
Here we post some of his haiku written recently.
Persimmon tree
autumns joy
speechless
innocent child
play with words
so easy that even an adult smile
shining pearl
most beautiful
its secret is pain
click click click
concentration
keyboard
On August 21, his haiku appeared on ‘the Asahi Haikuist Network by David McMurray’.
tiny blue flower
morning glory
dew under my bare feet
This site address is: http://www.asahi.com/english/haiku/.
Last of all we hope that his haiku will be enjoyed by more and more readers in the world.
― Hidenori Hiruta
Akita International Haiku Network 