Hina no kao
ware zehi naku mo
oi ni keri
the faces of the dolls!
though I never intended to
I have grown old
-
Osanago ya
hana wo misete mo
kuchi wo aku
the baby
even when shown a flower
opens its mouth
the tiny child
shown a flower
opens its mouth
-
the narrow path ends
in a field of leeks
stillness—
out of the rain a butterfly
roams into my bedroom
everyone is asleep
there is nothing to come between
the moon and me
at daybreak
speaking to the blossoms
a woman all alone
Enomoto Seifu-Jo (Seifu-ni ) was a student of the haiku poet Shiro of the school of Issa.
Links:
'Women Poets of Japan' edited by Ikuko Atsumi &, Kenneth Rexroth
from Far Beyond The Field – haiku by Japanese Women Poets translated by Uedo