夏桑に沿ひいきなりの汽笛かな 永方裕子
natsu-guwa ni soi ikinari no kiteki kana
along summer mulberry trees
suddenly
a train whistle
Hiroko Nagae
from “Gendai Haiku Hyakunin Nijukku” (“Modern Haiku: 20 Haiku per100 Poets”), edited by Kazuo Ibaraki, Kiyoko Uda, Nenten Tsubouchi, Kazuko Nishimura, You-shorin, Nagano, 2004
Fay’s Note: This haiku was written 7-5-5 format in Japanese.
Well, your train whistle sure carries me back. Outside of my grammar school there was a wall of mulberry trees… my seat was near a window and I spent years watching the birds in the trees with one eye/ear and the teacher with the other. But mulbery trees usually bring to mind the patience needed to create silk…something fine… and I see your young poet is being lured to distant places instead of caring for the “worms”…
Very nice succinct image with a hint of ethereal buoyance, one of my recent favorites.
I also enjoyed your comment Merrill