I’m half
in a dream, half
in the snow
半身は夢半身は雪の中
summer rabbit
starving
and dreaming
夏の兎飢えたり夢を見ていたり
still alive
the dragonfly drying out
on a stone
生きながら蜻蛉乾く石の上
autumn butterfly
I could kill it
with one finger
秋の蝶指一本で殺せるもの
killing is ugly
winter butterfly
殺すには醜悪であり冬の蝶
coffins in the snow
stacked like building blocks
雪に柩積木のごとく重ねおく
disappointment
in the morning in the evening
in the insect night
失望は午前に午後に虫の夜に
under white clouds
with a gloomy crab
白雲の下に鬱気の蟹といる
my high fever
is a deep purple
scarlet runner bean
高熱はむらさきがちの豆の花
snowfall
in a bird’s eyes
is one miracle
鳥の目に雪降るはひとつの奇跡
my soul
my breasts and autumn
in my arms . . .
魂も乳房も秋は腕のなか
snowy field
the crow’s omniscience
in purple
雪の原鴉の全智むらさきに
a silver-winged hawk moth
fluttering round and round
utterly fallen in love!
白銀の天蛾くるくる惚れちやつたんだよ
stuttering into
a tree on the hill
summer crow
丘の木にまぎれて吃る夏鴉
before you know it
even the seedlings
grow ears, tongues
いつしかに余り苗にも耳や舌
like the emperor’s white hair
summer moon
天皇の白髪にこそ夏の月
bringing home
one wild chrysanthemum
for each of my enemies
敵の数だけの野菊をもち帰る
garden cosmos
holes pierced in their throats
. . . lovers’ suicide
あきざくら咽喉に穴あく情死かな
dropping into a deep well
while still asleep
butterfly wings
ねむりつつ深井へ落とす蝶の羽
climbing up on stilts
I forget
the Prime Minister’s name
竹馬にのぼりて忘る総理の名
Japanese pond smelt
whether dead or alive
bend their bodies
わかさぎは生死どちらも胴を曲げ
because of their pitch-black eyes
mice are killed
まっくろな目ゆえ鼠は殺される
while waiting for someone
I name the kitten
ひとを待つ間に猫の子に名を授け
saffron–
the movie yesterday
killing someone
サフランや映画はきのう人を殺め
suspended in midair
my glove
and a swan
宙吊りにわが手袋と鵠と
the coffin’s interior
even if I’m dead in here
it smells nice
柩の中ここで死んでもよい匂い
I feel so lonely
when I write my name!
summer dawn
わが名かくとき淋しきよ夏の暁
Kiyoko Uda (b. 1935) is widely considered to be one of the most significant voices in 20th- and 21st-century modern (“gendai“) haiku, and she is one of the few modern Japanese haiku poets to have some representation in English translation already. She was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture and started writing haiku at the age of 19. She joined the haiku journal Soen in 1970 and became the editor in 1985. She also worked as an editor with renowned haiku poet Nenten Tsubouchi on the Gendai Haiku Journal from 1976-1985, and she joined Tsubouchi’s Sendan in 1986. In 2001, she won the 35th Dakotsu Prize (named after haiku poet Iida Dakotsu [ 1885-1962]) for her haiku collection Elephant (象). In 2002, she won the Gendai Haiku Association Prize and was awarded the Japan Medal of Honor, Purple Ribbon. Uda was the president of the Gendai Haiku Association from 2006-2011. Since retiring as president, she has continued to win a number of awards for her work, including the Shika Bungakukan Prize for Memory (記憶) in 2012, the 14th Gendai Haiku Grand Prize in 2014, the Japan Art Academy Prize in 2016, the 18th Haiku Shiki Grand Prize and the Award for Cultural Merit in 2019, and the 61st Mainichi Art Award in 2020. In addition to her poetry collections, she has also written many books on haiku history and criticism.
Sources:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%87%E5%A4%9A%E5%96%9C%E4%BB%A3%E5%AD%90
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