Tuesday, August 5, 2008

three haiku from 2005 with Japanese translations


two butterflies
stop and go, but mostly
keep on going


DWB
Haiku
August 20, 2005

つがい蝶 ならびまろびの 飛翔かな
tsugai chou / narabi marobi no / hishou kana

Translation to Japanese, Ken Saito

tsugai : a pair of, a brace of
narabi (narannde) : to go (in flight) in line/tandem, or, side by side
marobi (maronnde) : (rather old fashioned saying meaning )
to stagger/totter, or to drop-off (from flight)
hishou : flight

"a couple of butterflies flying, (sometimes/mostly) in smooth and side by side flight, (sometimes) troubled flight"

unenlightened, as yet—
how thunderbolts follow
one another


DW Bender
Haiku, 2005

悟るなし  雷神あまた  お在せども
satoru nashi / raijin amata / owase domo


Translation to Japanese, Ken Saito
(alludes to the haiku by master, Matsuo Basho [1644-1694]:

"How admirable!
to see lightning and not think
life is fleeting.")

almost before
it starts, it stops.
afternoon rain


DW Bender
Haiku, 2005

午後の雨  降りだす間なく  降り止めり
gogo no ame / furidasu manaku / furi yameri


Translation to Japanese, Ken Saito

1 comment:

qualcosa di bello said...

your butterfly 'ku (so lovely) brings to mind all the different butterflies that have been crossing my path lately...they are everywhere & they seem to lighten all my journeys with their delicate flight.