Rainier Haiku Ginsha Poems

On Sunday, June 27, 2010, members of Seattle’s Rainier Haiku Ginsha read a selection of their poems for the national meeting of the Haiku Society of America at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The poems were translated by the group, with suggestions from Michael Dylan Welch. Readers at the meeting were Teruko Chin, Kiyomi Erickson, Lily McMahan, Mitsuko Nakata, and Kyoko Tokuno. The Rainier Haiku Ginsha is a Japanese-language haiku group that was started in 1934 in Seattle by the Issei who had migrated to the United States. The group meets in Seattle on the first Saturday of each month. For further information, please contact Lily McMahan. See also Rainier Haiku Ginsha for a history of the organization and more selected poems in Japanese and English.

Miyoko

影連れて歩く若葉の上り坂 me and my shadow

kage tsurete aruku wakaba no noborizaka share a walk up the hill—

spring greenery

Shoushi

秋光に眼閉じても開きても brilliant light of autumn—

shukou ni manako tojitemo hirakitemo even with my eyes closed

as when they are open

Shoushi

パーテイの館つつみて牡丹雪 party lights ablaze—

party no yakata tsutsumite botanyuki fleeces of falling snow

snugly wrap the house

Yuge

母の日に米寿で逝きし母思う Mother’s Day today—

haha no hi ni beijyu de yukishi haha omou fond memories of mother

passed away on her 88th

Yuge

名曲にワインかたむけ春の宵 fine music

meikyoku ni wine katamuke haru no yoi a sip of wine

spring’s early twilight

Yukiko

侘助を一輪活けて粋な部屋 a single branch

Wabisuke wo ichirin ikete ikina heya of Wabisuke camellia—

the room is now chic

Saeko

地図広げ子の新居へと春の旅 the map open

chizu hiroge ko no shinkyo eto haruno tabi to our son’s new home—

spring vacation

Fujiko

旅立つ娘遠ざかりゆく夏帽子 daughter leaving on a trip—

tabidatsu ko toozakariyuku natsuboushi our goodbyes go further away

with her summer hat

Fujiko

緑陰に木洩れ日ゆるる茶庭かな sunbeam through the leaves

ryokuin ni komorebi yururu chaniwakana trembling in green shade—

serene tea garden

Teruko

新緑は一色ならず色重ね spring green—

shinryoku wa hitoiro narazu irokasane each tree is unique

in its own hue

Teruko

水抜かれ枯葉に埋む園の池 its water drained—

mizu nukare kareha ni uzumu sono no ike pond full of leaves

to the rim

Miyuki

船行きて波遅れ来し春湖畔 a boat passing by

fune yukite nami okurekishi haru kohan waves following slowly—

lakeside in spring

Sachiko

四月尽故郷に繋がる飛行雲 April almost gone—

shigatsujin kuni ni tsunagaru hikougumo a jet trail in the sky

leads to my country

Mitsuko

産卵を終えし骸に木の葉散る spawning complete

sanran wo oeshi mukuro ni konoha chiru dead salmon afloat downstream—

maple leaves mourn and cover

Yuriko

虫の音や遠く近くの隅隅に the chirp of insects

mushi no ne ya tooku chikaku no sumizumi ni in the corners of the yard

here and there

Yuriko

紅ちらり濃き葉のかげに寒椿 a glimpse of red

beni chirari kokiha no kage ni kantsubaki among dark shiny leaves . . .

winter camellia

Kyoko

太古よりつながるいのち杉菜かな From time immemorial

taiko yori tsunagaru inochi sugina kana an unbroken chain of life—

horsetail fern!

Hisao

薄闇に明りを灯すはなみずき in dwindling light

usuyami ni akari wo tomosu hanamizuki adding light and color

dogwood flowers

Fumi

若者よ桜満開未来あれ for you young men,

wakamono yo sakuramankai mirai are cherry blossoms in full bloom—

promise of the future

Kiyomi

追憶や窓辺に寄りて日向ぼこ basking in the sun

tsuioku ya madobe ni yorite hinataboko by the window . . .

retrospection

Kiyomi

五月闇溶岩注ぐ太平洋 cruising on a dark May night—

satsukiyami yougan sosogu taiheiyou lava flows

into the Pacific ocean

Hideko

陽の匂い風のささやき春隣 smell of the sun

hi no nioi kaze no sasayaki haru tonari whisperings of the wind

spring is almost here

Hideko

春光を水面に散らしせせらげる rays of spring

shunkou wo minamo ni chirashi seserageru scatter light over water—

the murmuring stream

Fuki

水溜めの氷一葉を抱き留めし frozen puddle—

miizutame no koori hitoha wo dakishimeshi a single leaf

in its fold