Collaborative Haiku Poem – 鷹

this is mine
hold a prey mercilessly
hawk’s talons

(Yoko version)
我がものと餌食をがっしり鷹の爪
わがもの と　えじき を がっしり　たか の つめ

winter hawk
shows prey proudly
through the window

(Michiko version)
窓越しに餌食を見せる冬の鷹
まどごし に　えじき を みせる　ふゆ の たか

One morning, there was a noise coming from our backyard. When I came up to the French windows, I saw a Cooper’s hawk standing near our house. Moments after I noticed that the hawk was holding a prey under its talons, the hawk flew away. The color of the prey was light brown with black dots. It was a big shock to realize that the prey was a Northern Flicker, a pair of which, a few minutes ago, came to a feeder and gave us the pleasure of seeing them. The next morning, even more troubling was to see the surviving Northern Flicker at the feeder, seeming to search and wait for the lost one.

　古い楓の木の方向からの物音に、枯れ枝が落ちたのかと、ガラス戸に近寄って当たりを見回してみると、家の外壁近くに一羽のクーパー鷹がすっくと立っていました。怪我でもしたのかと鷹を見た一瞬、鷹は飛び去りましたが、両足の黄色の爪の下には紛れもなく餌食が。ちらっと見えたのは薄茶に黒の斑点模様。数分前に餌にやってきたノーザンフリッカーであるのはショックでした。翌朝、つがいの生き残った方のノーザンフリッカーが、現場に飛んで来て相棒を探しているのを見るのは更にショックでした。

Collaborative Haiku Poem
– Yoko Kelley and Nakamura Michiko
– Illustration by Norman Kelley
Omaha, Nebraska