Collection of Short Poems
Image courtesy of Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center (@shofuso) on Twitter. Edited by the author.
Traditional Japanese short-form poetry, including haiku, senryuu, and hokku, usually contains 17 morae in a 5//7//5 pattern, a kireji (“cutting word”), such as ka, kana, keri, and ya, as well as kago (“seasonal language”) that suggests the setting of the poem. Modern haiku, however, is more diverse in structure and subject. Here is a collection of short poems in Japanese and English.
Image courtesy of Raphael Rychetsky (@raphaelfyi) on Unsplash.
秋の夕焼
空の中
雁の翼は
雲の墨
aki no yuuyake
sora no naka
gan no tsubasa wa
kumo no sumi
autumn sunset
in the sky
geese's wings are
clouds’ ink
Image courtesy of 李奕良 (@lisanto_) on Unsplash.
都会の蛙
ハラハラで
蛙飛び込む
地下鉄に
tokai no kaeru
harahara de
kaeru tobikomu
chikatetsu ni
urban frog
harahara*
a frog leaps in-
to the subway
*onomatopoeia for an autumnal drizzle
Image courtesy of Diğdem Çelik (@didoren) on Unsplash.
蠢
また雨だ
ミミズ蠢く
人は言う
また雪だ
桧は思う
また埋か
ugomeku
mata ame da
mimizu ugomeku
hito wa iu
mata yuki da
hinoki wa omou
mata mai ka
wriggle
it’s raining again
worms are wriggling
a person says
it’s snowing again
a cypress thinks
burial again?
Image courtesy of Marisa Buhr Mizunaka (@marisa_mizunaka) on Unsplash.
家
化け屋敷に
閉じ込められの
化け物か
ie
bake yashi ni
toji kome rare no
bake mono ka
home
is what is trapped
in a haunted house
a ghost?
Image courtesy of Agnis Leznins (@agnis_leznins) on Unsplash.
Basic need
"I've waited too long
to taste your blood on my fangs,"
whispers her cold breath.
Image courtesy of Christian Chen (@christianchen) on Unsplash.
To go
Slowly, carefully,
she wraps my favorites inside,
"For here or to go?"
Bell rings, door opens,
another conversation
with no beginning.
Image courtesy of Chris Henry (@chrishenryphoto) on Unsplash edited by the author.
Concourse
Ashy pleather seats
green streaming in pill-shaped views.
"Next stop Angora!"
Silverliner train
flying past ribbon windows.
Where am I going?
"This stop Forty-Ninth,
Center City Philly train!"
—Silence again.
Image courtesy of Long Bún (@longbun) on Unsplash.
Foggy memory
Foggy coal in air
smells like my grandma's kitchen
ten winters ago.
Ten winters ago
the airplane took me away
—rice still tastes like rice.
Image courtesy of Norio Hashimoto (@supernorio) on Unsplash.
October (passed me by)
Red red—red
rustling maples
fall—fall fall.
Image courtesy of Timo Volz (@magict1911) on Unsplash.
Bambi*
I'm stepping inside
a universe designed a-
gainst my own beliefs.
*based on lyrics by Claire Cottrill
