Autumn drizzle —
dolls made of mud
turn into mud

“The mud dolls in his poem are “being born” (umarete), not dying: born, refashioned, reincarnated — as mud . . . again.” David

I’m catching up a little on things I’ve not read here yet!

I don’t envy translators their difficult jobs, but as someone who relies on translations, I’m wondering why, David, you chose ‘turn into mud’ over ‘re-born as mud’ or ‘born again as mud’?

In any case, this ‘mud’ ku of Keiji’s seems to me to demonstrate something of ‘essential nature’.

…….

Autumn coolness —
a leaf as a bookmark
in an encyclopedia of fish

It’s interesting how haiku can give rise to varying interpretations. Having only English and relying on the translation, my response to this one: ‘Autumn coolness’ becomes, for me, a bit chilly when I realise that the leaf is most likely a deciduous leaf, one that has fallen, is dead. Such a leaf might well be the appropriate bookmark for an encyclopedia of fish : there might already be many kinds of fish in that book which we don’t see much anymore. The world’s fishing grounds are quite depleted. Many reefs are dead or dying. There might even be some which are extinct in that encyclopedia.

A bookmark, a pause for thought.

…best wishes,
Grandma