H
A I K U S P
I R I T
Shuson
Kato
I crush an ant
I am the one my three kids
watch
Bedsick
It is a winter tree
that attracts my eyes
When I ask for the way
the lane fills up
with half naked kids
The eyes of the pheasant
sold
at the market
Sleeping insect
I would love death
to have this face
Temple in the wind
a coin resounds
in a collection box
When I take off my hat
the blue night spreads
winter sky
In the fire
this walking ant
will end
Clouds banking up
city of ashes
as far as the eye can see
Winter seagulls
no roof for the living
no grave for the dead
Tax man pouring with sweat
the penniless teacher
burst out laughing together
On this atomic bomb picture
like me the dead are gaping
I am cold
Dead leaf
finally touches the ground
time in slow motion
After death
six foot under the frost
will be enough for me
What fits my children
no longer fits me
new calendar
-
Until it has become
a floorcloth
my old summer kimono
Fishermen laying
a shark
in the snow
Pine branches removed
faces badly shaved
all over the place
Midwinter thunder
shaking the pane
in the heart of the night
Men and sheep
put on weight again
millet is ripe!
Translation: Gilles Fabre