A New Year Gift
Chen-ou Liu (Canada)
sheep tracks
the crisscross of wrinkles
on a migrant’s face
十字形羊の残す足跡は移民の顔に刻まれし皺
steady snowfall …
on my coffee-stained desk
a pile of daydreams
部屋の外降り続く雪机にはコ－ヒーの染み空想の山
the old pond
rippling with sunlight
poets come and go
古池や陽光の波人の波
scattering ashes …
the river winds away
out of sight
灰散布曲折の川消えにけり
seashore sunset
rippling gold between me
and the world beyond
金色に海の夕日の波光る彼岸の空と私の間
what’s left unsaid
between the ums and ahs …
family reunion
再会の家族の会話阿吽かな
late-night cafe
an old man murmurs
to his reflection
老人や深夜のカフェ独り言
what will remain
of my immigrant past?
footprints in the snow
我移民私の過去の残る物雪に残りし足跡の如
this lockdown life
the comings and goings
of an alley stray
ロックダウンこの生活は何だろう路地裏の犬行ったり来たり
snow light …
waking thoughts of the home
I left
窓の雪蛍光の如生家かな
Translated into Japanese by Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku Poet
Chen-ou Liu (profile)
Chen-ou Liu lives in Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
He is the author of five books, including Following the Moon to the Maple Land (First Prize, 2011 Haiku Pix Chapbook Contest) and A Life in Transition and Translation (Honorable Mention, 2014 Turtle Light Press Biennial Haiku Chapbook Competition).
His tanka and haiku have been honored with many awards.
Akita International Haiku Network 