"In our poems and discussions, the group tries to get beyond the cloud of surface facts, to see the deep stillness within the everyday."

    —Anne Voegtlen

134days until
the Seabeck Haiku Getaway

Site Copyright © 2004–2012 by Michael Dylan Welch.

Rainier Haiku Ginsha Poems

On Sunday, June 27, 2010, members of Seattle’s Rainier Haiku Ginsha read a selection of their poems for the national meeting of the Haiku Society of America at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The poems were translated by the group, with suggestions from Michael Dylan Welch. Readers at the meeting were Teruko Chin, Kiyomi Erickson, Lily McMahan, Mitsuko Nakata, and Kyoko Tokuno. The Rainier Haiku Ginsha is a Japanese-language haiku group that was started in 1934 in Seattle by the Issei who had migrated to the United States. The group meets in Seattle on the first Saturday of each month. For further information, please contact Lily McMahan.
 

 

Miyoko

影連れて歩く若葉の上り坂                             me and my shadow

kage tsurete aruku wakaba no noborizaka          share a walk up the hill—

                                                                             spring greenery

 

Shoushi

秋光に眼閉じても開きても                             brilliant light of autumn—

shukou ni manako tojitemo hirakitemo               even with my eyes closed

                                                                             as when they are open

 

Shoushi

パーテイの館つつみて牡丹雪                         party lights ablaze—

party no yakata tsutsumite botanyuki                 fleeces of falling snow

                                                                             snugly wrap the house

 

Yuge

母の日に米寿で逝きし母思う                         Mother’s Day today—

haha no hi ni beijyu de yukishi  haha omou        fond memories of mother

                                                                             passed away on her 88th

 

Yuge

名曲にワインかたむけ春の宵                         fine music

meikyoku ni wine katamuke haru no yoi             a sip of wine

                                                                             spring’s early twilight

 

Yukiko

侘助を一輪活けて粋な部屋                             a single branch

Wabisuke wo ichirin ikete ikina heya                  of Wabisuke camellia—

                                                                             the room is now chic

 

Saeko

地図広げ子の新居へと春の旅                         the map open

chizu hiroge ko no shinkyo eto haruno tabi         to our son’s new home—

                                                                             spring vacation

 

Fujiko

旅立つ娘遠ざかりゆく夏帽子                         daughter leaving on a trip—

tabidatsu ko toozakariyuku natsuboushi              our goodbyes go further away

                                                                             with her summer hat

 

Fujiko

緑陰に木洩れ日ゆるる茶庭かな                     sunbeam through the leaves

ryokuin ni komorebi yururu chaniwakana            trembling in green shade—

                                                                             serene tea garden

 

Teruko

新緑は一色ならず色重ね                                 spring green—

shinryoku wa hitoiro narazu irokasane                each tree is unique

                                                                             in its own hue

 

Teruko

水抜かれ枯葉に埋む園の池                             its water drained—

mizu nukare kareha ni uzumu sono no ike          pond full of leaves

                                                                             to the rim

 

Miyuki

船行きて波遅れ来し春湖畔                             a boat passing by

fune yukite nami  okurekishi  haru kohan            waves following slowly—

                                                                             lakeside in spring

 

Sachiko

四月尽故郷に繋がる飛行雲                             April almost gone—

shigatsujin kuni ni tsunagaru hikougumo            a jet trail in the sky

                                                                             leads to my country

 

Mitsuko

産卵を終えし骸に木の葉散る                         spawning complete

sanran wo oeshi mukuro ni konoha chiru            dead salmon afloat downstream—

                                                                             maple leaves mourn and cover

 

Yuriko

虫の音や遠く近くの隅隅に                             the chirp of insects

mushi no ne ya tooku chikaku no sumizumi ni    in the corners of the yard

                                                                             here and there

 

Yuriko

紅ちらり濃き葉のかげに寒椿                         a glimpse of red

beni chirari kokiha no kage ni kantsubaki           among dark shiny leaves . . .

                                                                             winter camellia

 

Kyoko

太古よりつながるいのち杉菜かな                 From time immemorial

taiko yori tsunagaru inochi sugina kana              an unbroken chain of life—

                                                                             horsetail fern!

 

Hisao

薄闇に明りを灯すはなみずき                         in dwindling light

usuyami ni akari wo tomosu hanamizuki            adding light and color

                                                                             dogwood flowers

 

Fumi

若者よ桜満開未来あれ                                     for you young men,

wakamono yo sakuramankai mirai are               cherry blossoms in full bloom—

                                                                             promise of the future

 

Kiyomi

追憶や窓辺に寄りて日向ぼこ                         basking in the sun

tsuioku ya madobe ni yorite hinataboko             by the window . . .

                                                                             retrospection

 

Kiyomi

五月闇溶岩注ぐ太平洋                                     cruising on a dark May night—

satsukiyami yougan sosogu taiheiyou                 lava flows

                                                                             into the Pacific ocean

 

Hideko

陽の匂い風のささやき春隣                             smell of the sun

hi no nioi kaze no sasayaki haru tonari                whisperings of the wind

                                                                             spring is almost here

 

Hideko

春光を水面に散らしせせらげる                     rays of spring

shunkou wo minamo ni chirashi seserageru        scatter light over water—

                                                                             the murmuring stream

 

Fuki

水溜めの氷一葉を抱き留めし                         frozen puddle—

miizutame no koori hitoha wo dakishimeshi       a single leaf

                                                                             in its fold