Kiyoshi Tokutomi

Spring melancholy I try to toss a pebble to the other shore
	Well-manicured girl selling cherries at the stand with wordless father
Shadow of willow softly touches a carp’s fin summer afternoon
	In the scorching sun gleam perpendicularly the insulators
A bit of sourness reminds me of my first love, strawberry milkshake
	On the summer lake shadows piling on shadows as evening deepens
The winter raindrops shut out of the beach cottage strike at the window
	The snow falling night eyes to eyes with a black cat a breathless moment
Up, up heavenward riding its own melody the unseen skylark
	A small cherry tree just transplanted—already casting its shadow

All poems copyright by the estate of Kiyoshi Tokutomi. They may not be used for any purpose without explicit permission.

These haiku were originally published in Young Leaves, Yuki Teikei Haiku Society’s 25^th Anniversary Members’ Anthology, San Jose, CA, 2000