A Cup Full of Free-form Haiku

春の日暮れへ行方不明になった機関車

–飯島翆壺洞

A locomotive
mysteriously vanished
into the spring sunset

–Iijima 翆壺洞

鶺鴒の胸の白さと春の白雲と

–青木此君楼

And the white of the wagtail’s breast
And the white clouds of spring

–Aoki Shikunrou

月が昇れりわがまへの花ひらくべし

–種田山頭火

The moon rises
A flower blooming
Before my eyes

–Taneda Santoka

雀のあたたかさ握るはなしてやる

–尾崎放哉

Grab hold
of the sparrow’s warmth
then let it go

–Ozaki Hosai

木を挽けば鳩の声木を挽けば

–和田光利

If you cut down the trees
The singing of the doves
If you cut down the trees

–Wada Akitoshi

赤い郵便車とまつたポストと冬の雲

–秋山秋紅蓼

A red mail truck
stopped at the postbox
Winter clouds

–Akiyama Shuukouryou (Shūkōryō)

雪が好き想像妊娠かも知れぬ

–三樹雄

I love the snow
Maybe this is a false pregnancy

–Mikio

Four Free-form Haiku by 飯島翆壺洞 (Iijima Suikodou?)

美しいけもの罠に陥ち枯野雪ふる

A beautiful beast
falls into a trap
Snow falls on a desolate field

月夜の海がけものの骨あらっている

The moonlit sea
washes clean
the bones of the beast

私の内なる丘の春霞に蒼き鹿立てり

Inside myself
on a hill
in the spring haze
stands a fawn

塚累々ひとの墓うまの墓ちょうの墓

mounds piled high
human graves
horse graves
butterfly graves

NOTES:

I can find no pronunciation guide for the author’s name, so Suikodou is a guess (Iijima, the family name, should be accurate, however). If anyone knows for certain how to pronounce the author’s name, please leave me a note so I can confirm it or fix it. Thank you.