translated from the Japanese by Kimiko Hahn
[In the next room an anchor reports on border crossings]
this and that - drifts to mind - must be the sakura
[In the next room an anchor reports on increased bombing]
along this road - on which no one sets out - autumn’s foot fall
[In the next room an anchor reports on recent banned books]
Futami Bay where - a traveller severs clam from shell - I cut out into fall
さまざまの事おもひ出す櫻かな
samazama no koto omoidasu sakura kana
この道や 行く人なしに 秋のくれ
kono michi ya iku hito nashi ni ai no kure
蛤のふたみにわかれ行秋ぞ
hamaguri no futami ni wakare yuku aki zo
Copyright © 2026 by Kimiko Hahn. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 28, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.
