Self-Portrait Haiku by Adelle Foley (Self-Portrait Poetry Series)

SELF-PORTRAIT HAIKU
by Adelle Foley

An infectious smile
Tapping out daily Haiku
Pretty good figure

IMAGE: “Mona Lisa” by Dean Russo. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adelle Foley is a retirement administrator, an arts activist, and a writer of haiku. Her column, “High Street Neighborhood News,” appears monthly in The MacArthur Metro. Her poems have appeared in various magazines, in textbooks, and in Columbia University Press’s internet database, the Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry. Along the Bloodline is her first book-length collection. Beat poet Michael McClure writes, “Adelle Foley’s haikus show us humanity. Their vitality and imagination shine from her compassion; from seeing things as they truly are.” Visit her online at jack-adellefoley.com.

Summer Rains, haiku by Matsuo Basho

SUMMER RAINS
by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Early summer rains
so heavy
they obscure the waterfall

ART: “Rain,” woodblock by Hirokazu Fukuda. Limited edition prints available at new.uniquejapan.com.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Hirokazu Fukuda (1944-2004) was born and raised in the Tochigi prefecture, an area about an hour north of Tokyo surrounded by mountains and hills to the east, west, and north, with the Kanto Plains lie to the south. Hirokazu planned to become a professional classic guitarist but suffered a hand injury at a young age. Seeking a medium to express his creativity, he first worked with the canvas, then moved on to become a master woodblock artist. According to family and friends, he always hoped that his work would touch the heart of those around him.

Frog haiku by Matsuo Basho, translated by Hidesaburo Saito

FROG HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho
Translated by Hidesaburo Saito

Old garden lake!
The frog thy depth doth seek,
And sleeping echoes wake!

ART: “Frogs” by Charles-Louis Houdard (1874-1965)

Fern haiku by Matsuo Basho

FERN HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho

Tongue fern
in summer
one leaf.

IMAGE: “Hart’s Tongue Fern” by Colin Varndell. Prints available at fineartamerica.com. Visit the photographer at colinvarndell.co.uk.

Summer haiku by Matsuo Basho

SUMMER HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho

The summer world
floats in the lake
waves wash over

IMAGE: “Reflections” by Christopher and Amanda Elwell. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

Melon Haiku by Matsuo Basho

MELON HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

the first melon
shall it be cut crosswise
or into round slices?

IMAGE: “Melon” by Veronique Leplat. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

Frog Haiku by Matsuo Basho as a sonnet by Alfred H. Marks

FROG SONNET
by Alfred H. Marks
after the Frog Haiku by Matsuo Basho

A frog who would a-water-sounding go
Into some obscure algae-covered pool
Had best be sure no poetasting fool
Is waiting in the weeds and, to his woe,
Commemorates his pluck so all will know
His name and lineage, not for the fine school
He learned to sing at, nor, to make men drool
The flavor of his leg from thigh to toe.
He will not for his mother be remembered,
Nor for his father’s deeds, his honor bright,
Nor for his brother’s leg dismembered,
And eaten by a king with rare delight.
He will be famous simply for the sorta
Noise he makes just when he hits the water.

IMAGE: “Frog Hamlet” by Dallin Orr, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Visit the artist at dallinorr.wordpress.com.

Frog Haiku by Matsuo Basho, translated by Porky Pig as told to Paul Fericano

FROG HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho, translated by Porky Pig as told to Paul Fericano

Into the quiet of the anci-ancie-ancie—the very old pond
the small f-f-fro, f-f-fro-fro—er, the toad leaps.
The water sound is b-b-beau-b-b-beau-beau—oh, never mind.

IMAGE: Michigan J. Frog & Porky Pig Animation Production Cel, available at Amazon.com.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR: Porky Pig was introduced in the short animated film I Haven’t Got a Hat (first released on March 9, 1935). Known for his stutter, he appeared in 153 Warner Brothers cartoons during the Golden Age of American animation.

ABOUT THE AS TOLD TO AUTHOR: Paul Fericano was a finalist in the Alfred Jarry Foundation’s 2013 Cy Schindell Imaginary Book Prize competition for his notion of a manuscript based on an idea inspired by a Jorie Graham acceptance speech. He was a semifinalist for the 2012 Casaba Melon Poetry Award and has been nominated 56 consecutive times for a Pushcart Prize, tying Joe DiMaggio’s major league record. In 1982, he became the first American poet to enter and leave the U.S. Witness Protection Program. www.sinatrasinatra.com

Frog Haiku by Matsuo Basho, translated by Curtis Hidden Page

FROG HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho
translated by Curtis Hidden Page

A lonely pond in age-old stillness sleeps . . .
Apart, unstirred by sound or motion . . .till
Suddenly into it a lithe frog leaps.

IMAGE: “At Gaze” by Ming Yueng. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

Frog Haiku by Matsuo Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa

FROG HAIKU
by Matsuo Basho
Translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa

Breaking the silence
Of an ancient pond,
A frog jumped into water —
A deep resonance

ART: “Frog,” watercolor by Frits Ahlefeldt.