Torn

torn by a cold wind
in a month of falling leaves
paper doors slam shut

torn by a cold wind
sparrows cling to bare branches
no morning bird song

in a month of falling leaves
sunrise leaves its breath
on a stagnant pond

paper doors slam shut
keeping out the winter chill
a moment longer

Kim M. Russell, 28^th October 2018

My response to Carpe Diem’s Leafless Tree #2 through our torn paper doors (Sokan)

Today we have a new episode of the feature ‘Leafless Tree’, which introduces not so well-known haiku poets. This week’s poet, Yamazaki Sokan,   lived in the 16th century and was a renga and haikai poet from Ōmi Province, who originally served as a court calligrapher but became a Buddhist monk.

Our challenge is to create a new haiku inspired by the given haiku and then create troiku with the haiku we have created:

kaze samushi yabure-shooji no kannazuki

cold wind
through our torn paper doors
in the month without gods *

© Yamazaki Sokan (Tr. Gabi Greve)