Below are some haiku by Erick Tsiknopoulos composed in Japan in 2005. They were written in Japanese, and then translated into English.
entenka
semi no koe ga
atama ni shintou
under the scorching sun
the voice of the cicada
penetrates my head.
***
konya tsuki
netsu takai ya
mangetsu kana
the moon of this night
and me with my high fever —
i wonder if it’s a full one?
***
rerakusu no toki
ikutsu hito wa
sonna ki kana
time to relax
how many people
have felt this way?
***
mo ichi kai
mo ichi kai
tsukareta kana
“one more time”
“one more time”
i wonder if he’s tired?
***
tsuya no chuushin
jibun no sekai
oii da zo
the core of a dewdrop
— one’s own world:
there really are a lot of them!
***
aimai shi wa
komaru, komaru yo
kuki wa umi ya
amigious poetry is
troublesome, troublesome:
the air is the ocean.
***
karada chiru
kokoro mo chiru ya
natsu no semi
body is falling off
heart-mind is falling off, too:
summer cicada.
***
a ninjin
kono yo no naka ni
byouki mo zo
Ah, humans:
in the midst of this world
i too am sick
***
tsuki ga tsuku
hoshii akuruku
mienai yo
the moon is ringing
brightly the stars are shining
but i can’t see them!
***
hasu no shita
dai-shizen no me wa
jitto mitsumeru
underneath the lotus
the eye of Great Nature
fixedly gazes.
***
aa wakatta
sono semi no koe
boku to issho
Ah, now i’ve got it!
that voice of the cicada
is the same as me.
***
byou no soto e
warera tobako su
tsuyu shuppatsu
outside the hospital
we smoke tobacco:
the departure of dew.
***
konna mi wa
mitsuke ni kui ya
suzushi kaze
this kind of body
is hard to find:
a cooling wind.
***
miwa karasu
kaze to asobu ya
kuroi kumo
three crows
playing with the wind:
black clouds.
Composed in and translated from japanese by Erick Tsiknopoulos, 2005.
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