The yearly pamphlet Akita – the Land of Poetry『詩の国秋田第６号』, whose 6th volume is posted as an e-pamphlet, features haiku special from the English haiku submitted to the 3rd Japan-Russia Haiku Contest in 2014.
A great number of haiku fans willingly sent their haiku in English to the contest from 46 countries including Japan.
They compose haiku, the shortest form of poetry of three lines, catching the haiku moment through their observation or insight.
They write haiku, seeking for “pure present”, which might express “the eternal now.”
We sincerely hope that haiku will be shared with each other, which helps us realize the pleasure of writing haiku again.
We also hope that haiku could deepen mutual understanding and enjoyment of different cultures between those people who read or compose the poem, helping make the world peaceful.
Haiku Special
Claude Lopez-Ginisty（Switzerland）
Tears were shed one day
In Japan and in Russia
But they became dew
Stania Helga （Switzerland）
isle of my early years
the ferry
docks── casts off──
Chen Ching-Ling（Taiwan）
Fireworks in the sky,
Heat touch skin, but cold inside,
Weep to say goodbye.
Brouwer Bouwe（The Netherlands）
commuter train –
the winter sun travelling
through the trees
Anthony Court（(U.K.）
Sesshus’s deft brush strokes
Flow from his mind, like the sea
Spirit and ink one
Davidson Tracy (UK)
distant mountain
every time I near you
you pull away
Dobson James（UK）
origami frog–
my fingers and thumbs
are cooling off
Parsons John （UK）
where green sea turns blue
our separate lives
become one
SUMMERS Alan （U.K.）
dissecting my inevitable death coded mayflies
Blöttenberger Meik (German-American U.S.A.)
burgundy tulips—
a gypsy begs
to read my palm
brady brett（USA）
lightning—
a fly’s wing flutters
off the web
Brager Mark E.（United States）
sheltering
against the dawn . . .
thistledown
Burch Susan （USA）
meteor trail
where
have you been
Byrnes Sondra（USA）
the sea at nightfall—
waiting to say
more
Gilbert Colin（United States of America）
yesterday’s weight
lightened
by morning sun
Grisetti Joann（United States of America）
pearl divers
along the road to Nagasaki
prayers offered
Hart William（USA）
ides of march
upstart trees surge and flail
the flagpole clangs
Horst Ludwig （U.S.A）
A homeless woman
a feather in harvest breeze
resting a moment
Kilby Howard Lee（USA ）
tea ceremony
two old warriors without swords
sitting together
MACHMILLER Patricia J.（USA）
tulip magnolia—
the shape of laughter is
the shape of tears
michele l. harvey（USA）
glimmer of stars…
the river of memory
that makes a life
RUSSELL TIMOTHY（UNITED STATES）
gibbous moon
my father’s corpse again
its dead mouth
We are now holding the 4th Japan-Russia Haiku Contest.
Readers are invited to send haiku about “lake” to Hidenori Hiruta at the Akita
International Haiku Network by e-mail to (shhiruta@nifty.com).
By Hidenori Hiruta
Akita International Haiku Network 