Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The way I see you haiku

full moon
the way i see you thru'
my window

bulan purnama
caraku memandangmu
lewat jendela

Weeping bamboo haiku

weeping bamboos
i start showing my children
how to haiku

rintihan bambu
nak, lihat bagaimana
haiku ditulis

Painful guitar tanka

I wrote this tanka shortly after I played Santana on my player. Easily it seized me, and I just could not resist the temptation to write this.

windy evening
i rehearse new song
on my guitar
the pain you left lately
stiffens my fingers

petang berangin
kulatih lagu baru
pada gitarku
pedih yang kau tinggalkan
bekukan jemariku

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Table manners haibun

Table manners

I was probably the clumsiest among others in my family at holding the spoon and fork. Unlike Mom, Dad, my sisters and brothers, I held the cutlery like holding a knife, instead of the way I took a grip on a pen. We didn't use a knife to savour a dish.

"Use your bare hands," my Mom said almost each and every evening when we had dinner with the whole family. "Wash them first before you start," my Mom added and moved a ceramic bowl of water towards me for hand washing.

family dinner
chinese dancer dances
in the bowl


Adab di meja makan

Dibanding anak-anak lainnya dalam keluarga kami, mungkin aku yang paling canggung menggunakan sendok dan garpu. Selalu saja aku memegang sepasang alat itu dengan cara yang aneh. Aku yang memegang sendok dan garpu seperti aku memegang pisau, bukan pena.

“Gunakan saja kedua tanganmu, tapi jangan lupa cuci dulu,” kata ibu.

makan malam
penari china menari
di kobokan


*Thanks to Alan Summers for his grammatical suggestion..

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Fancy dinner haiku

The first haiku altered into two different versions. Don't know which one is the best.

i/
fancy dinner
bought for a long lost friend
how much?
the change i keep for myself
since our last encounter

ii/
buy a dinner
with long lost friend
too much
the change i keep
only for myself

iii/
treat a friend
to a fancy dinner
is it too much?
the change i keep for myself
since our last encounter

Children's laughter haiga

Significant other haiga

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Bridge the river haiku

sunny afternoon
shadow of a palm tree
bridges the river

petang yang terang
bayangan batang palma
melintas sungai

Jumping goat haiku

roadside trench
a goat jumps into
it's own shadow

got tepi jalan
anak domba melompat
ke bayangannya

Hometown river haiku

hometown river
somewhere under the current
my reflection hiding

sungai kampungku
bayanganku sembunyi
di bawah arus