Favorite Haiku

Melissa Allen at Red Dragonfly sparked my interest in starting this page.  She said:

So now I’m curious about what other people’s favorite haiku are. Do you have any? Do you think it would be hard to decide on some?

I do have favorites, and the list grows.  I’m going to use this page to keep track of  and share them.  Enjoy and please feel free to share your own and comments on these.  The first two are the ones I shared with Melissa on the post linked above.  I love the irony that they were my first choices and both are about dead wives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

妻今宵月の兎と遊ぶならむ　　伊藤伊那男

tsuma koyoi tsuki no usage to asabu naramu

my wife tonight
must be playing
with rabbits on the moon

Inao Ito

from ‘Haidan,’ (‘Haiku Stage’) a monthly haiku magazine,  October 2012 Issue, Honami Shoten, Tokyo

Fay’s Note:   The poet lost his wife 7 years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this piercing cold I feel
my dead wife’s comb, in our bedroom
under my heel . . . .
(Buson)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the distant mountains
are reflected in the eye
of the dragonfly
(Issa)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to hold my wife
treading spring noon’s
gravel going home
(Kusatao)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

come out to view
the truth of flowers blooming
in poverty
(Basho)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s Haiku (January 18, 2013)

枯れしものみなやわらかき影をもつ　　西村睦子

kareshi mono mina yawarakaki kage o motsu

things which withered

all of them have

soft shadows

Mutsuko Nishimura

from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) ,  September 2009 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo

posted at Fay Aoyagi’s Blue Willow Haiku World

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s Haiku (January 27, 2013)

なにもかも吹雪その中に息づく　　　福田若之

nanimokamo fubuki sono naka ni ikizuku

snow storm of everything

inside it

breathing

Wakayuki Fukuda

from “Shûkan Haiku” (“Haiku Weekly”) #283,  11/4/2012 Issue, http://weekly-haiku.blogspot.com

posted at Fay Aoyagi’s Blue Willow Haiku World

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~