a mother
who doesn’t trust
pre-washed rice
無洗米を信用しない母
in my dream
of a perfect world
I am absent
夢想する完全な世界に私は不在
a whetstone for sharpening excuses
免罪符としての砥石
I’m only wearing it
to get my money’s worth
元を取る為だけに着ている
you’re the dessert I crave
I’m a toothpick
洋菓子の君に焦がれる爪楊枝の僕
on recycle waste day
throwing out the dreams
that didn’t come true
叶わなかった夢を資源ごみの日に捨てる
the automatic door opens
5 seconds of summer
自動ドア開いて夏の5秒
wanting to see you right away
I run through twilight
早く会いたくて夕闇を走る
taking away my tears
the scent of autumn
涙奪い去る秋の匂い
the umbrella blotting out a mother and child holding hands
手を繋ぐ母子を塗りつぶす傘
sweating out
my conscience
汗をかくように失う良心
blossoms blossoms blossoms
their separation echoes
花花花の別れが鳴る
holding me together
breaths in the dark
私を繋ぎ止める暗闇の呼吸
I close my wet umbrella
and my heart
ぬれた傘とこころを閉じる
the phantom pain of a dream that never hatched
孵化しなかった夢の幻肢痛
the words I swallowed
cooling off
飲み込んだ言葉に冷えてゆく
drizzling rain
on my right hand
still waving
振り続ける右手に霧雨
nonwoven fabric:
winter touching my nose
不織布の鼻に届く冬
in the empty wheelchair
the smell of winter
空の車椅子に冬の匂い
since becoming an empty lot
it seems smaller
更地になって小さい
at the boundary
between you and the pillow
darkness
君と枕の境界に闇
new light bulb
new shadows
あたらしい電球あたらしい影
the looming moth orchid’s sweet typeface
迫りくる胡蝶蘭のあまい書体
pretending to sleep
while I wait
for the Sandman’s return
寝たふりで睡魔の帰りを待っている
while thinking over the menu
my bones decay
献立を考えながら朽ちていく骨
Onogi Noa (https://x.com/onogi_noa) is a contemporary freeform haiku and tanka poet. She and fellow poet Poppy Shiraishi host This Much (「このくらい」), a kind of short-form poetry podcast on Twi(X)ter in which they read and discuss submitted poems based on a theme. The theme for this month (June 2024) is “bubbles” (泡). In most of her publicly posted photos, she appears wearing a panda head.
Entry No. 1 