8 Midorijo Abe
(1886-1980)
Haiku by Japanese  Poets 4
                                       translated by Fay Aoyagi
9 Sekitei Hara
(1886-1951)
from Gendai no Haiku (Modern Haiku), edited by Shobin Hirai, Kodansha,
Tokyo, 1996
ane sumeba kawari suwarinu aki kagami

  after my sister
  her successor sits
  autumn mirror
mono iwanu hitori ga yasashi kyuuri momi

 easier when alone
 without talking to anyone
 I rub salt into cucumbers
fukeyuku yo danro no oku ni uminarisu

 night deepens
 a sound of the ocean
 in the heart of a fireplace
oozora no ichimai shiroku itenikeri

a white sheet
of the big sky
has frozen
ikutabi mo yuki no kakarishi sai o kau

 I buy green vegetables
 covered by snow
 again and again
sora ippai iwashigumo nari yume no naka

  sardine clouds
  filled the sky
  in my dream
 
umi mo yama mo yayoi o matte itarikeri

  the oceans
 and mountains, too,
 are waiting for March
yamaguni no an susamajiya neko no koi

   ferocious darkness
   of the mountain county--
   a cat in love
kawadori no kenka itsu hatsu gan samushi

    when a quarrel
   between the river birds is over...
   icy gigantic stone
yameru haha no shouji no soto no kareno kana

    outside the shoji screen
   of Mother's sick room
    withered field
shinishi furi shite kani aware doyou nami

   a pitiful crab
  pretends to be dead
  Dog Day waves
kubi nobete hi o miru kari ya ashi no naka

     craning its neck
    a goose in the reeds
    looks up at the sun
okera naku yo o furusato ni aru kokoro

      on the night
     when mole crickets sings
     my soul in the birthplace
kaki kuu ya haikai ware ni teki ooshi

      eating a persimmon
      I have many enemies
      as a haiku poet