ManyMountains.org .::. Santa Fe Internment Camp Poetry : Jack Kaichiro YASUTAKE

Inside Fence Senryu Miscellaneous Poems by Jakki

Mata au to wakareta hito ni mata deai
Pledged to meet again, though parted, we chanced to meet now.

Hi o keshite sibaraku jibun no kako ni fure
I turned off the light and for a while was touched by my past.

Akirame ni naremoto yagu no tsumetasugi
Though accustomed to my despair, the bedding remains too cold.

Sanzen to hikaru tsurara no reika godo
Icicle blazing, five degrees below zero.

Tekikoku no mikata ni sarete sayōnara
Branded an enemy alien, Sayonara.

Sono teido narato yōkyū toritsugare
"Well, if that's all." The request was conveyed.

Ikashitoku teido ni shiborudake shibori
Survival mode: squeezed as much as possible.

Mono taranu seikatsu hi ni aki yoru ni aki
Meaningless life; Boredom at day, boredom at night.

Yakkaina koto ni aite ni kane ga ari
How irritating, my bunkmate is rich.

Intan no imi ga himashi ni bakageteki
As days pile up, internment becomes more absurd.

Jakki [Peacock Joy]
Showa 19 [1944] January 11
Santa Fe Internment Camp
YASUTAKE Kaichiro