Haiku in Wartime

戦争へゆくかも知れぬ落葉焚く

–東京三

I may be going to war
Fallen leaves
kindle the fire

–Higashi Kyouzou (Higashi Kyôzô)

煙草も砂糖もない店のガラス壺の埃

–栗林一石路

Out of cigarettes and sugar
Dust in the store’s glass jar

–Kuribayashi Issekiro

手と足をもいだ丸太にしてかへし

–鶴彬

My hands and my feet
were disassembled and
replaced with logs

–Tsuru Akira

退却が待ち遠しい銃をかついでいる

–中山仮面坊

Waiting for the order to retreat
Rifle on my shoulder

–Nakayama Kamenbou

塹壕に一つ認識票光る

–西東三鬼

In the trench
a dog tag
catches the light

–Saitou Sanki

NOTES:

Higashi Kyouzou (or Kyôzô) was another pen name for Akimoto Fujio (秋元不死男).