Haiku of RICHARD WRIGHT(46)

(Original)
A spring mountain holds
The foundations of a house
Long since tumbled down.


(Japanese version)
春の山
倒壊して久しいのに
家の礎が残っている


(Hohsai）
春の山のうしろから烟が出だした

(English version)
From behind
A spring mountain
Smoke begins to climb.

■Wright's motif is a ruin. The combination of a spring mountain and a tumbled-down house reminds us of that of life and death. On the other hand, the work of Hohsai is easygoing and humorous. And we can see a motion in it like a animation. A phrase" from behind" gets a laugh by itself.

Haiku of RICHARD WRIGHT(45)

(Original)
As though for always,
Each petal lit by the sun,‐
Apple blossoms!


(Japanese version)
昔からそうだったように
どの花びらも陽に輝いている
林檎の花


(山頭火）
花いばら、ここの土とならうよ

(Santohka)
Rose blossoms
Let's return to
Dust here.

■Wright sings the life of apple blossoms. His haiku is bright and positive. The phrase" for always" makes me feel endless time. In the case of Santohka, he stares at death. If the pose is given after "Rose blossoms", the death is his one. If the phrase "Rose blossoms" means talking to it, the death is his and the blossons'. Life someday goes to death, and it comes back to the ground as new life. I feel such a cycle of life about two haiku.