水の春苑をめぐるに橋いくつ 牛田修嗣
mizu no haru en o meguruni hashi ikutsu
water of spring
how many bridges
to circle the garden
Shuji Ushida
from “Chô–Shinsen 21” , (“Super New Selection 21,” an anthology of the haiku poets under 50-year-olds) edited by Bansei Tsukushi, Yasuko Tsushima, Leona Takayama, You-shorin, Nagano, Japan, December 2010
As I look out at my field of mud with snowdrifts melting causing all sorts of floods… this haiku brings a picture of a gorgeous Japanese garden and how that sudden flow of water creates many new scenes… yet even there… the enormity of the flow leaves a wondering if the floods will be too much…
You surely feel the surge of early spring in this haiku…