kuriafairu kasanete kumoru yama-wa aki

--

clear binder sleeves

together not so transparent

hills turn autumnal

--

Takao Hirowatari (1951- ). From " Fuumon" (Wind-wrought patterns), Kadokawa, Tokyo, July 17, 2024.

The Japanese term for the transparent plastic sheathes or folders that one puts A4 sheets of paper in to keep them organized is "clear file." The object itself is defined by its transparency. When it is only a single layer of clear plastic between one's eye and the paper within, it certainly does seem like they are completely transparent. The poet has several of them and, laying one atop the other in a pile, notices that together they become a cloudy mass. Tiny imperfections in a single sleeve go unnoticed but, when together, the imperfections affect the whole. In this state of mind, the poet looks up and sees that the hills are losing their vivid green and autumn is settling in. This melancholy resonates well with the discovery introduced in the first two lines.

Selected, translated and commented on by Dhugal J. Lindsay

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Pique your poetic interest with more Haiku in English here.