Haiku
Written by: Fujioka Saikō
Translated by: Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
Published in: Haiku Volume 1
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My Fourth Son Leaves to Enlist in the Army: 7 Haiku
When the earth was covered in fresh green he set off undaunted from Heart Mountain
His uniform arrived, my son-turned-soldier, the autumn breeze
In a distant military camp on a starry night—my son!
On a winter’s morning, I think of my camp child
Placing a jar of pickled roots in the bundle I send my soldier son
Gathering round to read a soldier’s letters beneath autumn lamplight
On this Thanksgiving day I wish him courage
Silently holed up in my room on the Meiji emperor’s birthday
Suddenly unable to send chrysanthemums on the Meiji emperor’s birthday
On Basho’s death day, a zen meditation hall appears here1
1 Likely refers to Nyogen Senzaki’s “floating zendo”
About the Heart Mountain Bungei
What is the Heart Mountain Bungei? Learn about the story behind the poetry and prose of the collection, and the process of translating and interpreting the Bungei.