crocus
I don’t really know you
that well
クロッカスあなたのことはよく知らない
inside the cherry tree in leaf
wings warming up
葉桜のなか温めてゐる翼
the afterimage of birds
at the water’s edge
cherry blossoms in bloom
みづぎはの鳥の残像桜咲く
one by one
like small stones
soap bubbles
つぎつぎと小石のやうなしやぼん玉
full moon:
the shoals keep spitting sand
満月の浅瀬は砂を吐きつづけ
birds migrating
deep within the forest
of myself
鳥帰るわたくしといふ森の奥
summer solstice night:
holding the plastic umbrella
between my legs
夏至の夜のビニール傘を股挟み
always September
for the little bird
in the mosaic . . .
モザイクの小鳥のいつも九月かな
in the forest
of firefly lights, my heart
getting bigger
蛍火の森の大きくなり心臓
no one crossing
to the other shore
. . . fireflies
対岸へ誰も渡らぬ蛍かな
in the chain-link fence
the sound of winter
and the sea
金網に冬の音あり海のあり
perched like a bird
in front of the painting
spring chill
鳥のやうに止まる絵の前春寒し
coins passing
from hand to hand
firefly night
手から手へ硬貨ながるる蛍の夜
pushing the warehouse door
with my shoulder
red winter leaves
肩で押す倉庫の扉冬紅葉
Yuka Yamagishi (b. 1977) won the 33rd Gendai Haiku Association New Face Award in 2015. In 2009, she joined the Enkan Haiku Group and studied under its president, Kanta Ishi. In 2012, she won the Enkan Newcomer Award, and she won the Enkan Prize the following year. She also joined Mame-no-Ki in 2012. Yamagishi’s first collection of haiku, Joubu na Kami (Durable Paper [丈夫な紙]), was released in 2022.
Alternate translations of 蛍火の森の大きくなり心臓 (lit. “firefly light forest becoming bigger, heart”):
the forest of firefly lights
growing bigger
my heart
the forest of firefly lights expanding heart
forest of firefly lights expanding the heart
the forest of firefly lights expanding my heart
the forest
getting bigger in the firefly light
my heart
in firefly light
the forest growing bigger
my heart
Notes: In the poem 蛍火の森の大きくなり心臓, the cut comes between 大きくなり (getting bigger) and 心臓 (heart). “getting bigger” should directly modify “the forest.” The word “heart” appears alone with no modifier, so this sudden juxtaposition could be read as the speaker’s heart responding to the forest which seems to be getting bigger with the light of the fireflies. In effect, we understand that the speaker’s heart is expanding because the forest is also expanding in the light. However, “heart” is vague enough that it could also be read as the metaphorical “heart” of the forest growing bigger in the light of the fireflies. Thank you to Rin Namakura for pointing out the nuances of this haiku and recommending changes to my initial translation, which removed any ambiguity by directly connecting “getting bigger” to “my heart” and not to “forest.”
Sources:
Entry No. 1 