Haiku by Brian McSherry in Iwate, Japan (Part 2)

 

On April 10,2010, Brian Birdsell(McSherry) sent me an e-mail, contributing  a collection of short poems, which he has entitled  “Fair Equinox” and divided into 4 seasonal sections. Attached it the “winter poems”.  

On May 18, 2010, he sent me the second e-mail, saying as follows:

Thank you Mr. Hidenori Hiruta for your interest in my writing and adding it to the Akita haiku website. I also just recently finished the spring section to this collection and have attached it to this email. I also attached a photo (I will try to get some more photos to you later this week) and provided below a brief intro.

Thanks again for everything! 

Brian

 

According to his self-introduction,

Brian McSherry has lived in Chicago, San Francisco, Prague, Italy and currently lives in northern Japan. He has lived there for over 6 years and enjoys spending time with his daughter, hiking in the mountains of Tohoku, writing, and traveling. He has a background in linguistics and teaches English at a private high school in Iwate. 

Now it is just summer, but I present 15 haiku of spring to you with my Japanese translations, remembering those spring days we have ever had.

At the grave

too windy for the incense –

spring’s unrest

 

お墓で

お線香をつけるには風が強すぎる ―

春の心配

 

On long April walks

this landscape outlasts my words –

I must be

somewhere

 

四月の長い散歩

この風景は私の言葉より長持ちする ―

私はどこかにいるにちがいない

 

 

The sliding shoji

lets in the sunlight

the paper still torn

 

障子が

日光を中に入れる

障子紙がまだ破れている

 

Sweeping the terrace

I take off my old jacket –

leaves everywhere

 

テラスを掃きながら

私は古い上着を脱ぐ ―

至る所に葉が落ちている

 

In the spring rain –

a sparrow rests on a branch

unconcerned

 

春雨の中 ―

一羽の雀が枝でとまっている

平気な様子で

 

The vendors wet

under the cherry trees

smell of grilled squid

 

物売りが濡れている

桜の木の下で

焼きイカの匂い

 

Cherry blooms under

evening lanterns –

I forget

why I came here

 

桜が咲いている

夕方の灯籠の下で ―

忘れてしまった

どうしてここに来たのか

 

In the park

everyone looking upwards –

sakura1 falling

 

公園で

みんなが上を見ている ―

桜が散っている

1 sakura (桜) Japanese cherry blossoms

 

Here is everything

I know

watching maple leaves

until they open

 

ここにすべてのものがある

私は知っている

モミジの葉を見ている

葉が開くまで

 

 

All night in the park –

waking next to wine bottles

and a row of ants

 

公園で一晩中 ―

一睡もしないで起きている

ワインのボトルと一列に並んだアリの隣で

 

A pine tree stretches

over Takamatsu pond –

my afternoon walk

 

一本の松の木が伸びている

高松池の上に ―

私の午後の散歩

 

Cherry blossoms

fade in the spider webs –

our rendezvous gone

 

桜の花が

蜘蛛の巣の中で色あせてしぼんでいる ―

私たちのランデブーは終わった

 

From the rock splitting

cherry tree2

a petal falls –

peaceful resistance

 

石を割って

桜の木が生え

花びらが散る ―

穏やかな抵抗

2 Rock spitting cherry tree (石割桜) a famous old cherry tree in Morioka that grew out of a huge granite boulder

 

 

The winds so strong

tonight

blew the clouds right off

the moon

 

風がとっても強い

今夜は

雲を吹き払った

月から

 

Beautiful girls

with tears –

overlooked

fading petals

 

美しい女の子たち

涙を流しながら ―

見渡していた

色あせてしぼんでいく花びらを

 

 

 Last of all, I present two photos of cherry blossoms in full bloom in spring, which were taken at きみまち阪公園(Kimimachizaka Koen), in Akita.

The next posting ‘Scots haiku by John McDonald (Part 3)’ appears on July 31.

― Hidenori Hiruta