Collaborative Haiku Poem – 竜巻の進路

tornado
coming this way or not
birds at feeders

(Yoko Kelley)
竜巻の進路を知らす鳥えさ場
たつまき の　しんろ を しらす　とりえさば

On December 14, tornadoes ran through Nebraska, Iowa and other neighboring states. Some areas suffered significant damages. It is said to be difficult to pinpoint the exact spots tornadoes hit, as the movement of tornadoes is affected by atmospheric pressure, temperature and other weather factors. The indicator I often use in predicting whether tornadoes are heading toward our way or not is the behavior of wild birds: usual or unusual? In that afternoon, wild birds congregating at our backyard feeders kept on eating as if nothing was happening, even when tornado sirens were blaring. Thus, I inferred that tornadoes were not coming our way. Fortunately, we were safe from tornadoes. Only a few branches were broken due to high gusts of wind.

　１２月１４日午後4時、竜巻がネブラスカとアイオワならびに両州の近隣を襲い、かなりの被害が出ました。竜巻は気圧、気温等の種々の気象条件に左右されるため、直撃を受ける地点を厳密に予測する事は困難とされています。竜巻に襲われるかどうかの私的な指針としているのは小鳥たちの行動です。その日の午後、餌場に集まっている小鳥たちが竜巻警報が鳴り響いている最中でも何もなかった如くにえさを食べているのを見て、私の住んでいる区域はおそらく大丈夫と判断しました。幸い今回は、突風で２、３の枝が折れただけで、竜巻の直撃を受けずに済みました。

Collaborative Haiku Poem
– Yoko Kelley
– Illustration by Norman Kelley
Omaha, Nebraska ネブラスカ州オマハ市