Facing a window overlooking Monterey Bay, Kiyoko Tokutomi considers a newly composed haiku.
Born and reared in Japan, she told us so many memories of her life there and her dear parents.
I still have a small vial with cherry petal shells (tiny pink shells) that she gave to me.
furusato no umi no koishiki sakuragai
How I love it
the sea of my hometown . . .
cherry petal shell
haha no sumu atari ni takaku kumo no mine
Where my mother lives
standing there
towering cumulus
akasugi o sukku to tatete yama warau
With its redwoods
springing to their height
the mountain laughs
the sea of my hometown . . .
cherry petal shell
haha no sumu atari ni takaku kumo no mine
Where my mother lives
standing there
towering cumulus
akasugi o sukku to tatete yama warau
With its redwoods
springing to their height
the mountain laughs
This book of her haiku was published shortly before she died. The group read from it to her at our December meeting that year.
Thank You, June.. I miss her and my Dad a lot..
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