Words of Leaves [Fumizuki / Haiku]

Iced coffee at two in the afternoon, the day is long

The town of sea fog where my late grandparents lived

Vinca flowers, that day blooming within me

On my smartphone, I have a folder named "Kotonoha" where I jot down haiku and tanka poems.
In the July Kotonoha folder, there are only three notes so far. Moreover, one of them was something I forced my children to write one by one and then saved.
Even though there were weeks in February, March, and around November when I was updating it almost every day.
It's so hot that no words or emotions other than "hot" come out, so I guess it can't be helped.

Last year, the end of the rainy season was surprisingly early, but it was corrected later. This year, tropical nights and extremely hot days continue, and cumulonimbus clouds are billowing, but the rainy season has not ended yet.
Every year I hear the term abnormal weather, and spring and autumn are getting shorter and shorter. Customs that were attached to the land and seasons are changing or disappearing. As the sense of the seasons fades away, how should I express the present in seventeen characters? It is truly difficult to weave words and convey my thoughts within my limited vocabulary.
Even so, I suppose people will continue to write words every day.


I will participate in the Shun-hai (Seasonal Haiku Contest) with the three poems I wrote in June.

　 ・・　　💠　　・・　　🌿　　・・　　👒　　・・

○ Iced coffee at two in the afternoon, the day is long

It's still a long way from the afternoon, I have to get motivated! I think, and drink iced coffee to wake myself up. At that moment, I feel like I can do my best. But, I deflate again soon after.
I drink barley tea without ice, but iced coffee is also delicious to drink while enjoying the clinking sound of the ice. I also like the sound of the ice melting with a faint sizzling noise (I want to write a poem about that too, but it's hard to express).

○ The town of sea fog where my late grandparents lived

When I was in the second grade of elementary school, I spent half of my summer vacation at my mother's parents' house in Hokkaido (my father could only stay for three days due to work). That was when my grandmother taught me the word "Jiri" (sea fog). I had never heard it in Kansai. It is similar to fog, but it seems to be a dense fog that occurs when fog rises on the sea where there are cold currents, and warm, humid air blows onto the land.
Since this word only came up in conversations with my mother and grandparents, it felt like an old tale or folklore to me. I tried looking it up just in case, and I was happy to find it was a seasonal word.

My mother's parents' house is in Nemuro City.
My grandparents and great-aunt have passed away, and my aunt has moved, so if I ever visit Nemuro again, I suppose it will be as a "tourist."
If I had just been a tourist from the beginning, I probably would have never known the word "Jiri".

○ Vinca flowers, that day blooming within me

Actually, until just before posting, I had a poem that went:
"Dayflower, the child inside me"
I wrote at length about my memories of radio calisthenics during summer vacation and my thoughts on the dayflower, and just as I thought, "Okay, I'll post it," I had a bad feeling and looked it up, and as expected...
The dayflower (tsuyukusa) was a seasonal word for autumn!!
I ended up having to swap the flower out. I was relieved that the vinca (nichinichiso) is a seasonal word for summer.

One summer vacation, we were given homework to draw a picture of a plant. I sketched the vinca in a planter at my aunt's house in the neighborhood and submitted it.


The shape of the flower was simple, and the petals were a clean white. Yet, only the center was vividly colored, and as a child, I thought what a lovely flower it was.
If it were now, even if I thought it was lovely, I would probably just hold up my smartphone, take a picture, and forget about it in an instant. But when it comes to drawing, you have to look at it closely, capture the shape, layer the pencil lines over and over... and then, while mixing the paints on hand little by little and adding water, you bring it closer to something you are satisfied with.

I was satisfied with the picture I drew for this homework, and I remember it well even now because it was displayed in the hallway or somewhere.
When you become an adult, you rarely draw proper pictures anymore. I still draw things like illustrations from time to time (while looking at something). ...Maybe I should try drawing a "picture" in earnest with the children during summer vacation.
Thinking about things like that is the most fun part, before the vacation starts.

→ The third poem has been corrected.

Well then, before summer vacation begins, I'll finish the rest of my homework (senryu) too 😆

#ShunHaiku