i used to have a swing. when i was little.

it hung on the tree outside of my house.

and i remember i used to spend hours on the thing

swinging higher and higher hoping i could touch the stars. swing to smth else. outside of my current life.

but one of my most vivid memories w that swing

is my dad screaming at me from the porch.

i can't tell if he was mad or scared.

i js remeber his face. scrunched and twisted.

his words that were vibrating in my skull. each one tearing into my brain a little more. making a new line.

the swing’s gone now.

it was taken down years ago.

and i can no longer touch the stars

Sounds of Bamboo Forest

No matter how strong the wind blows,
the green forest never crumbles.
When the wind passes by,
the green forest stands tall and proud,
inspiring admiration.

The sounds of bamboo forest,
echo through the trees,
whispers of wisdom and peace,
carried on the gentle breeze.

A symphony of rustling leaves,
Soft words win hard hearts,
a melody of harmony,
ringing in the bamboo forest glen.

So let the forest speak to you,
let its wisdom guide your way,
listen to the sounds of bamboo,
and find peace in each passing day.


대나무 숲의 소리

아무리 강한 바람이 불어도
푸른 숲은 무너지지 않아
바람이 지나가면
푸른 숲은 높고 자랑스러운 모습으로 서 있어,
감탄할 만한 영감을 주지

대나무 숲의 소리,
나무들 사이에 울려 퍼지지,
지혜와 평화의 속삭임,
부드러운 바람에 실리지.

속삭이는 잎들의 교향곡,
부드러움이 강한 것을 이겨,
대나무 숲의 계곡에서 울리는 화음

숲이 말하는 것을 듣고
지혜의 길로 이끌게 두라
대나무의 소리를 들으며,
하루하루 평화를 찾을 수 있으리니

The Sharp Rocks by the Seashore

Even the strong black rocks
can be shattered by the waves
the never-tiring power of the waves.

I used to be one of the sea's sharp rocks,
strong and sharp-edged,
fighting against the waves.

Now, I have crumbled into a round pebble,
having learned a lesson over time.

Softness can conquer strength,
and the pen is mightier than the sword.

The truth of the universe,
Sharp rocks turn into pebbles,
and sharp things change into round and soft things.

The pebbles playing with the waves on the shore,
no longer fight against the waves.
They live in harmony with the peaceful waves.

바닷가의 날카로운 바위

강한 검은 바위도 
파도에 부서지지
지치지 않는 파도의 힘을 당할 수 없어

나는 바다의 검은 바위였어
강하고 날카로운 모서리로 
파도와 싸웠지

이제, 나는 부서져 내리고 둥근 조약돌이 되었어
오랜 시간 배운 교훈이지

부드러운 것이 
강한 것을 이겨
칼보다 펜이 더 강해

우주의 진리 
날카로운 바위는 
조약돌로 바뀌고 
날카로운 것은 
둥글고 부드러운 것으로 변해 

해안에서 파도와 노는
조약돌은 이제
파도와 싸우지 않아
조화로운 파도와 조약돌의 평화

Endurance of the Shoebill

In the wetlands of Uganda, a bird stands tall,
unending tranquility, waiting for food
Its massive bill shaped like a shoe, ready to haul.
With patience and poise, it stands in the water,
Waiting for prey to come, it doesn't falter.

Its eyes are sharp, its focus intense,
The shoebill picks food with skill and sense.
With lightning speed, it strikes at its prey,
Its powerful beak leaving no delay.

Through thick and thin, the shoebill endures,
Through harsh climates, it steadfastly ensures,
Its survival and place in this world,
Its determination, never give up.

From dawn to dusk, it forages on,
Until the day is done and night has drawn.
The shoebill is a creature of strength and might,
A symbol of endurance, a wondrous sight.


슈빌의 인내와 끈기


우간다 늪지대, 그곳에 큰 새가 서 있네
신발 같은 큰 부리를 가진, 그 새가
차분하게 물속에서 기다리네
먹이를 기다리며,
끝이 보이지 않는 물 위에 선 고요

날카로운 눈, 집중하는 시선,
먹이를 고르는 그 새는 대단하지
빠르게 부리로 내리치며,
주저없이 먹이를 잡는 강한 부리의 힘

변함없이 견뎌내는 새
극한의 환경을 이겨낸 새,
이 세상에서의 생존과 존재감,
절대 지지 않겠다는 그 각오

새벽부터 저녁까지 사냥하고,
낮이 가고 밤이 깊어질 때까지,
그 새는 끊임없이 먹잇감을 찾지.
그 새는 인내와 끈기의 생명체,
환상적인 모습, 그대로 인내의 상징.

Kang Byeong-Cheol is a Korean author, poet, translator, and holder of a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science degree. He was born in Jeju City, South Korea in 1964, and began his writing career in 1993. His first short story, “Song of Shuba,” was published when he was twenty-nine years old.
In 2005, Kang published a collection of short stories and has since won four literature awards, publishing over eight books in total. He was a member of The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International from 2009 to 2014. From 2018 to 2022, he served as Secretary General of the Jeju Unification Education Center. Prior to that, he was a Specially Appointed Professor at Jeju International University from 2016 to 2018, a Research Professor at Chungnam National University National Defense Institute from 2013 to 2016, a Senior Researcher at the Society of Ieodo Research from 2010 to 2017, and CEO of Online News Media Jejuin News from 2010 to 2013.
Kang also worked as an editorial writer for NewJejuIlbo, a newspaper in Jeju City, Korea. Currently, he holds the position of Research Executive at The Korean Institute for Peace and Cooperation.

BUSON’S ADVICE:  HAIKU OF THE FOUR ELDERS

Bashō, Buson, Issa and Shiki first by the judgment of the years, but then who?  Buson said: “Seek out Kikaku, visit Ransetsu, recite Sodō, and accompany Onitsura. Meet those four elders every day.”  For today, then, knocking on Kikaku’s door, a visit with Ransetsu, and a walk with Onitsura.  But Sodō--he’s hurrying off to the melon patch.  Another time for that one.

Overtures

Waking before dawn, see
How the constellations
Are all
Turned around!

--Ransetsu tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

Every morning
Shaking out the fireflies
When drying the straw rain-coat.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (1)

In my four-foot bamboo hut this spring,
There is nothing; there is everything.

-- Sodō tr. Harold Stewart


The Great Morning

The Great Morning
Winds of long ago
Blow through the pine trees.

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (2)

Its first note;
The uguiso
Is upside down.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (3)

Here water,
And there water,
The waters of spring.

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (3)

The cool breeze
Fills the empty vault of heaven
With the voice of the pine-tree.

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (4)

The wind ceases;
Water drips in the forest;
A kankodori sings.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (4)

Above the pilgrims
Chanting
On a misty road
Wild geese are flying.

-- Ransetsu tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

Lightning flashing
All night in the east
This morning
Smoulders in the west.

-- Kikaku tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

At last, when her song
Is still
The goddess becomes
A small green bird.

-- Onitsura tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson


Melon Patch

The morning after the storm;
The melons alone
Know nothing of it.

-- Sodō tr. R. H. Blyth (4)

Gathering young greens
In the garden, they called out
To a kerchief.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (3)

Pale, the yellow rose
In spring already—bitter
Too, the lettuce grows.

--- Sodō tr. Kenneth Yasuda

Able to look after
Its own self,--
The melon.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (1)


Pleasure Quarter

A courtesan enclosure
A hototogisu sings
In the dawn
I am made to buy an umbrella.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (2)

The whole tenement house,
Having locked their doors,
Are dancing and dancing.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (5)

Catching goby;
A river village, a mountain quarter,
A wine-shop flag in the wind.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (4)


Dolls for Sale

There a beggar goes!
Heaven and earth he’s wearing
For his summer clothes.

-- Kikaku tr. Harold Henderson

A summer shower;
A woman sits alone,
Gazing outside.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (4)

A childless woman…
How tenderly she touches
Little dolls for sale.

-- Ransetsu tr. Peter Beilenson (2)


Moon Viewing

A copper pheasant wakes with shrill-edged cry;
The silver crescent cuts the chilly sky.

-- Kikaku tr. Harold Stewart

Harvest moon is bright,
Casting the shadows of pine
On the mats tonight!

-- Kikaku tr. Kenneth Yasuda

This autumn
With no child on my lap
Gazing at the moon.

-- Onitsura tr. Adam Kern

The frenzied dash and dart of dragonflies
Is stilled:  a crescent moon begins to rise.

--Kikaku tr. Harold Stewart

Painting pines
The blue sky
The moon tonight

-- Ransetsu tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

Harvest moon,
And mist creeping
Over the water

-- Ransetsu tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

Leading me along
My shadow goes back home,
From looking at the moon.

-- Sodō tr. Harold Henderson


Night 

How cool things are:
The coolest—on Musashi Plain
A falling star.

-- Kikaku tr. Harold Henderson

To bring me the flowers,--
Oh, that the evening path of the messenger
May be moon-lit!

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (3)

Stillness . . . then the bat
Flying among
The willows
Black against green sky.

-- Kikaku tr. Peter Beilenson (1)

Come come!  Come out!
From bogs old frogs
Command the dark
And look . . . the stars!

-- Kikaku tr. Peter Beilenson (1)

In stony moonlight
Hills and fields
On every side
White and bald as eggs . . .

-- Ransetsu tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

A bowel-freezing night
The sound of an oar striking the wave,--
Tears.

-- Kikaku tr. R. H. Blyth (2)


Blossoms

On top of skeletons
They put on a gala dress, and then—
the flower-viewing!

-- Onitsura tr. Harold Henderson

Over and over,
Sprinkled over by blossoms
Drowsily drowsily.

-- Onitsura tr. Adam Kern

The cherry blossoms having fallen,
Enjôji Temple
Is quiet once more.

 -- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (2)

Oh, how green
The threads of the willow,
Over the stilling waters!

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (3)

The wild cherry:
Stones also are singing their songs
In the valley stream.

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (3)

When cherry trees bloom
Birds have two legs
Horses four

--Onitsura tr. Faubion Bowers

Gusty spring breezes . . .
But the stubborn
Plum buds still	
Gripping their thin twigs.

-- Onitsura tr. Peter Beilenson (3)

Silent the garden
Where the
Camellia-tree
Opens its whiteness.

-- Onitsura tr. Peter Beilenson (3)

A blossom of the plum,
A blossom’s worth
Of warmth.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (1)


Tea Bowls

Evening squall!
Scampering among the houses,
Squawking ducks.

-- Kikaku tr. Adam Kern

A tree frog, clinging
To a banana leaf—
And swinging, swinging.

-- Kikaku tr. Harold Henderson

Play about, O, fair
Beads of dew, from one grass-leaf
To another there!

-- Ransetsu tr. Kenneth Yasuda

The grain of rice
Stuck on my face
I gave to a fly.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (1)

No letter
No message,--
Five rice dumplings in bamboo leaves.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (1)

The pine cricket
Does not make a sound -
This black bowl

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (2)

Flying in from the bamboo-blind
The swallow is tame
With the beautiful girl.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (3)

Catching the reflection
Of the yamabuki,
The spring is yellow.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (3)

The pampas grass,--
It sums up all
The loneliness of Saga.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (5)


Seasons

New Year’s Day
Dawns clear, and sparrows
Tell their tales.

-- Ransetsu tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

In the New Year dawn
Solemn and
Deliberate
Tall cranes go marching.

-- Kikaku tr. Peter Beilenson (1)

Green cornfield:
A skylark soaring,
There—swooping.

-- Onitsura tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

Even I who have
No lover . . .
I love this time
Of new kimonos.

-- Onitsura tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

Daybreak—
On the corn shoots
White frost of spring.

-- Onitsura tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

In spring, frogs sing;
In summer,
They bark.

-- Onitsura tr. R H. Blyth (3)

Trout leaping:
On the river-bed
Clouds floating.

-- Onitsura tr. Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite

How hot, on afternoons without a breeze,
The cobwebs hanging from the dusty trees!

-- Onitsura tr. Harold Stewart

How woeful
The wail of a cicada
Caught by a hawk.

-- Ransetsu tr. Adam Kern

Paulownia leaves
Scatter, crinkle, one by one
On the breeze.

-- Ransetsu tr. Adam Kern

Winter having come,
The crows perch
On the scarecrow.

-- Kikaku. tr. R.H. Blyth (5)

Blue-shadow-bolted . . .
The castle gate
Of Edo
In frozen moonlight.

-- Kikaku tr. Peter Beilenson (3)


Afterwords

The table of the spirits;
Dew, and tears,
These are the oil.

-- Ransetsu tr. R. H. Blyth (5)

A leaf is falling…
Alas alas another
And another
Falls.

-- Ransetsu tr. Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson

And so the spring buds burst, and so I gaze,
And so the blossoms fall, and so my days . . .

-- Onitsura tr. Harold Stewart


Biographical Notes

Takarai Kikaku (1661—1707)
The son of a physician, Kikaku followed a muse instead of the family practice and became one of Bashō’s most accomplished students.  He studied Confucianism, Chinese poetry and painting.   His account of Bashō’s death can be found here: http://simplyhaiku.com/SHv4n3/features/Nobuyuki.html

Uejima Onitsura (1661—1738)
Born into a family of saké brewers, Onitsura sold his share of the family business to a younger brother and immersed himself in the study of poetry.   His efforts to elevate the writing of haiku from a parlor game to a serious form of literature have historically been overlooked and over-shadowed by the Bashō narrative.  Current scholarship credits him with equal and independent contributions.

Hattori Ransetsu (1654—1707)
Eldest son of a low-level samurai and a disciple of Bashō, Ransetsu studied Zen under Saiun Hōjō and painting from Itchō. R. H. Blyth states he was born in a farmer’s house and served several feudal lords as a samurai.  One account states Ransetsu's first wife was a bathing house prostitute. She died after giving birth to a son, whereupon Ransetsu took a geisha as his wife. 

His poetry first appeared during 1680 in a pair of anthologies compiled by Bashō. He was numbered among the Ten Philosophers of Bashō’s circle of students.  He shaved his head and became a monk when Bashō died in 1695.  His poem on the master’s passing:

Sent off
By the winter blast
His retreating figure.

Ransetsu’s religious convictions did not prevent him from continuing his writing although he did not leave behind a large volume of work.  He was known as an established poet by 1702 and he authored a diary of his travels to Southern Japan three years later.  Little is known of his own death in 1707. 

Yamaguchi Sodō (1642—1716)
Said to have been employed as a flood control engineer, Sodō studied the tea ceremony, calligraphy, and Confucianism.  He lived for a time near the lotus-filled Shinobazu-no-Ike Pond in Ueno.

 
Sources of the translations

Adam Kern, The Penguin Book of Haiku

Faubion Bowers, The Classic Tradition of Haiku

Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite, The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse

Harold Henderson, An Introduction to Haiku

Harold Stewart, A Net of Fireflies

Harry Behn and Peter Beilenson, Haiku Harvest

Kenneth Yasuda, A Pepper-Pod: A Haiku Sampler

Peter Beilenson (1), Japanese Haiku

Peter Beilenson (2), The Four Seasons

Peter Beilenson (3), Cherry Blossoms

R. H. Blyth (1), A History of Haiku Volume One

R. H. Blyth (2), Haiku I:  Eastern Culture

R. H. Blyth (3), Haiku II:  Spring

R. H. Blyth (4), Haiku III:  Summer/Autumn

R. H. Blyth (5), Haiku IV:  Autumn/Winter

During his life, a person encounters various obstacles, stumbles, falls, and at the same time learns to stand up and realizes that life goes on. These stumbles and failures mature a person. The more a person stumbles, the more experienced he is. Hikmat, who doesn’t want to face such obstacles, does something and if it doesn’t work out, he doesn’t try it again. He is afraid of failure. He was afraid to try new experiences. At night, he made intentions that I would not face any obstacles and that all my work would be successful. As if his intentions were fulfilled, he looked forward to all his work and succeeded in everything. He found his profession. He got a house and a car, got married. As if he lived without any obstacles or shortcomings. He would not have the stumbling blocks that everyone has. He achieved all his wishes. Life without obstacles was only in him.

One day he made a small mistake at work and was afraid that this mistake would turn into a big one. After that, he deleted the necessary documents from his office computer as invalid and lost his job. After that, one unlucky day began to pass. these days have come too. His life has completely changed, and he started dreaming that it’s all over for me. He was very backward and lost everything. And he met a good person. He told the man what he had seen. A wise person said, “You believed that you thought good things, that’s it. You thought bad things, and it turned out bad. This is life, my friend. When you encounter obstacles, try to think only about the positive and the good side. The main thing is not to stop moving. If you fall, get up again, then you will succeed one day. What they said, think that it was for goodness.

Safarova Farangiz, 19 years old. 2nd year student of the Faculty of Korean Language of the International University of Kimyo