MITSUAKI KOJIMA

Early morning
the black ant comes first
breakfast table

Awake at first light, Yoko Kawasaki thought she would be alone in the kitchen. A hint of humor helps readers to smile at this otherwise sad situation. Although ants can be readily seen in spring and fall, when haikuists refer to an ant it is meant to connote the mid-summer season. Perhaps because it was written while the summer Olympics were taking place the poem introduces a competitive undercurrent, a race between man and insect. The main theme, however, is loneliness and the longing for friendship.

Raytea, a haikuist in Kanagawa enjoys listening to the competing, yet harmonic sounds of a river and a songbird. Yutaka Kitajima composes a haiku about a cricket symphony he listened to in Niigata.

New coolness
crickets tuning up
adagio

Stream murmurs
lark on the tree
natural concert

Masami Fujita competes with children in his neighborhood in Osaka. Romanian haikuist Vasile Moldovan writes about the sportsmanship displayed at the world’s most competitive event.

Little kids
contend to blow off
dandelion fluff

Olympic Games--
opponents shaking
each other's hands

Maltese poet Francis Attard enjoyed watching the opening ceremony in Beijing, noting the different costumes worn by the athletes. Satoru Kanematsu studied the faces of the competitors as they filled the creatively designed huge main stadium at the Beijing Olympics.

Change of clothes
show of nationality
Olympics

Athlete's hopes
flood the Big Bird Nest
hot Beijing

Michael Corr notes how the organizers had to contend with poor weather. There is no escaping the summer rains laments Kanematsu.

Medalists
win icons and rain
slickers' glint

Downpours
before and after
the tunnel

After each sporting event, when the winners have been decided and medals and flowers are presented, Polish poet Jacek Margolak enjoys listening to the national anthems.

Awaiting
the national anthem
shooting star

As the Olympics wound down, German poet Ramona Linke laments how her country had not won many medals. Sending a haiku from North Carolina, Charlie Smith congratulates the people of Afghanistan for winning their first medal.

Summer Games end
under our walnut tree
empty bird's nest

Olympic flame
first Afghan medal
kindles hope

Want to try composing haiku ?

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