TINY HOPS

A tiny bird hops

Along a hedge in autumn –

Unable to fly

BY THE ROAD

Crouching by the road …

In autumn moonlight smelling

A burning candle

NO TODAY

How happy I am –

No mushroom-picking today,

In this heavy rain

REFLECTION

Between the lightning

And rumbling autumn thunder –

Time for reflection

THE DREAM

Rainy autumn night –

The chocolate drinker brings out

My nightmarish dream

TIME

Meeting in autumn –

My onetime English teacher

Puffs while I just pant

THE SIGN

Old dog on a chain,

Sleeping outstretched on the sand –

Sign of the Balance

UNKNOWN

An unknown mushroom…

Means even less to the dog

Than it does to me

A MAN AND HIS DOG

A man and his dog –

Each wetting his own tree trunk

In autumn sunshine

BUT THEN AGAIN

I’d say she’s flirting…,

But, then again, it’s autumn…,

And, well, she’s pregnant

JOSEPH

Reading the story

Of Joseph from the Koran –

Autumn equinox

WHAT IS THIS

What is this? Full moon?

Coming through the door window?

Autumn equinox.

LOL

My old-aged parents

Laugh out loud watching TV –

Autumn equinox

THE WAITER COMES

In mild autumn sun

The fat young waiter comes out

With his inner warmth

READ TWICE

Is it possible

For one to read a haiku

In the same way twice?

THE LAWS OF A MOTHER

Under red apples,

My friend, her daughter and I –

Reading EU laws

Sunny autumn day –

The town is full of bellies

Of pregnant women

Among red apples

A motionless admiral

Sits on a green leaf

Congratulations,

Little Italian cousin –

Now you’re a mother

TOO BEAUTIFUL

The yellow dog is

Far too fat for a short walk –

Beautiful autumn

THE LOT OF THE FREE

Nothing free of charge –

Not even the parking lot

At the cemetery

Autumn hide-and-seek:

Covered by a plastic foil?!

The patch of parsley!

A black redstart stops

On the empty windowsill –

September shower

Standing at the door,

I feel my trouser legs move –

Gust of autumn wind

‘Things happen in threes’ –

A rumbling thunder follows,

Confirming my words

Making a U-turn,

The wagtail shows its colours –

Early autumn rain

HIS WILL

Except for his own,

God will never tolerate

Any prejudgement

THE WINGED ANT

Climbing up the house

With a huge caterpillar –

Winged ant’s twelfth fall

MERRY AUTUMN

Sitting in the sun,

We eat, drink and make merry –

Autumn ramadan

TWO SORTS

September twilight –

Two cicadas of sorts sing

In the apple tree

SWEET WONDER

Wherefrom the sweet smell…

I wonder till I come to

The vine full of grapes

BEBOP

Afternoon bebop

Of two young men on the bridge –

This, too, is autumn

BROKEN

Old joiner sitting

In autumn at the table

With his broken heel

THE BED AND THE PATH

From the flower-bed

A bee has cast its shadow

On the garden path

ANOTHER

The door bell ringing…,

It’s the new chimney sweeper –

Another year

THE REDDISH CROSS

Two reddish does cross

The walkway in the marshes –

People walk their dogs

A ROW AND THE BANK

Evening on the bank,

Ducks stand almost in a row…

It’s suddenly cold

THE FIRST AND THE LAST

The first day of school –

I think about the last line:

‘Learning how to learn’

SUDDENLY

With both hands clasping

The warm cup of morning tea –

Suddenly autumn

ON THE DARK SIDEWALK

Dark end of summer –

The grey crow on the sidewalk

Seems to bring some light

JAPANESE

Treading on the snake

Drawn on Japanese sandals

By a designer