Two Haiku Sequences: An Akita Summer

by Masaya Saito

I
Homecoming

me, in the tick
of the pendulum

 

Hanging a goldfish bowl

old-age blotches
my father’s hand

 

This tatami

where a futon was spread
my mother lying dead

 

Household altar

a candle flame
within, a wick

 

Through the window
my father hoeing

darker and darker

 

That evening
waiting for my mother

a pumpkin on the wooden floor

 

Chill after a bath

the tick
of the pendulum

 

The shoji screen

from behind it,
his single word of reply

 

In moonlight
my palm
0
I’m tired

 

II
The thatched eave

out of its shade
walks my shadow

 

Sweltering sky

my feet crunching the gravel
across the graveyard
A drop of sweat

splashes
the gravestone

 

My hands together in prayer

now apart,
I begin to walk

 

This path
through the verdant shade

toward the edge

 

Crouching
I retie a shoelace

cicadas screeching

 

Footsteps
one by one

through the tunnel

 

Myself
shimmering in heat haze

I walk on

The deserted school

its window
reflects my face, ageing

 

Passing by

a lady holding a parasol
fist in its shade

 

Beyond the cliff
where I stand

a rainbow