Haiku by Wahyu W. Basjir in Indonesia (1)

On September 15, Wahyu W. Basjir sent me an e-mail with his brief bio, a photo of his family, and haiku included, as follows:

Dear Hiruta-san

I was born in Central Java in 1967 and have been spending more than half of my age in Jogjakarta with my wife and three children.

 

As a son of an elementary school teacher, I realized that I love writing and poetry when i was in 5th grade. However, poetry writing was not my biggest passion but journalism, and writing op-ed articles on economic development and governance for indonesian newspapers. In the last few years I contributed to and edited books on local governance, budget analysis, anti corruption, foreign debt, participatory development and advocacy. It was before I fell in love with haiku and other related forms, namely tanka and haibun some years back. 

In 2003. I started to learn more intensely on the genre and tried to work on my first haiku in my national language. Unfortunately, haiku poets are very rare in Indonesia so that it was hard to receive critiques and comment by which I could learn and improve my writing skill. This is probably the first reason why I write english haiku (sad to say, I don’t speak Japanese). I usually write bilingual haiku (english-indonesian) so that i could make it easier to share my works with wider audience (english speaking readers) while keeping my fellow indonesian (they speak english but more familiar to poetries in our national language). And these days, I’m seeking sponsor to publish my first haiku/poetry book in print.

The thing I am now still struggling with is seasonal haiku. As you know, I live in tropical/equatorial country with only two seasons, rainy and dry (but if you like joking, we can say that tropical countries actually have more seasons; rainy, dry, mango, rambutan, durian, and many more kinds of fruits! Hahahahaha…). Four-season is beyond my experience so that my haiku is usually considered non-seasonal. 

Thank you for this opportunity. May this lead to an artistic friendship that lasts forever.

 

busy roadside
the day moon fills up 

a beggar’s bowl 

 

繁華街：

昼の月乞食のお椀を満たしけり

 

 

superficial lie
hovering under the branches
:paper birds

 

見えのうそ枝下止まる紙の鳥

 

 

cricket song
how familiar it is
my mother’s voice*

 

親しさやコオロギの歌母の声

*Ambrosia, issue 5 Summer 2010

 

 

tell me
how it feels to be
sour tamarind

 

どんな感じ酸っぱいタマリンドって

 

 

new lunar year’s eve
fireflies
flew to the moon

 

元日の夕蛍は月に飛べり

 

 

clouds and dawn–
who’s gonna be the first
to steal the moon?

 

雲と日の出どっちが月の盗人や

 

 

monday–
another wrinkle
on his skin

 

月曜や別のしわ出る彼の皮膚

 

 

spring water–
i turn myself into
slope and valley

 

春水や我身を変える坂と谷

 

 

fly high–
i wish i had the eyes
of a kite

 

高く飛び我持ちたしや凧の目を

 

 

before the mirror
i wish i were not one
of the twin

 

鏡見て双子でないと願いけり

 

 

cloud

over sand dunes
are you travelling alone?

 

独り身や砂丘の上の旅の雲

 

 

seasons shift 
a bird nest on the roadside 
stalking the monsoon 

 

鳥の巣の路傍に吹くや季節風

 

 

morning dew 
lingers on tobacco leaves 
smell of ashes 

 

タバコの葉朝露を置く灰の香

 

 

morning drizzle 
new pond in the frontyard 
fishless 

 

朝の霧雨：

 

池できる魚のいない前庭や

 

 

my window cracks
a fleurdelis crops out 

thru the fence 

 

割れる窓塀からのびるアヤメかな

 

Warmest regards,

Wahyu W. Basjir

Dsn. Nglarang RT 5.35, Wedomartani

Ngemplak, Sleman, Jogjakarta

http://drifter-haiku.blogspot.com

 

I sincerely hope  that you have appreciated haiku by Wahyu W. Basjir with my Japanese translations so much.

The next posting ‘Haiku by Kirby Record at AIU in Japan (Part 5)’ appears on October 9.

―　Hidenori  Hiruta