Cherry Blossoms

Emi Miyaoka

(Hirakata, Osaka, Japan)

Now, this is the limit
Of language—
The sky is effluent
With cherry blossoms.

いまこれが⾔語の限界桜満つ

In spring, snowing—
There is a happening
I can never forget.

春の雪もう忘れないことがある

Early summer clouds—
They looked like
Large footprints in the sky.

初夏の雲⼤きな⾜跡のように

You are a person who
Overflows with feelings—
A chorus of cicadas.

感情の溢る⼈なり蝉時⾬

I was basking
In a vivid sunset glow—
A god is coming now.

鮮烈な⼣焼浴びて神来たる

Snowing, snowing—
The prime period is
So beautiful as it is.

雪が降る素数周期の美しき

The memories
Had grown dim
And become auroras—

想い出が褪せてオーロラになって

In winter, a butterfly—
I am going to fly
Wherever I wish.

冬蝶やどこへだって⾶んでゆく

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Emi Miyaoka

is a

Guest Contributor for Panorama.

Emi Miyaoka is a Japanese poet and Hirakata city official. Her books and other works can be found in the Harvard-Yenching Library. Poetry "Early in summer, Diophantine approximation" (the April 2022 issue of Poetry, Chicago) . Haiku "A Long This Way" and Poetry "Where I Was Born" (Bath Spa University, UK) . Haiku "To be in the Summer" (CA). First Japanese translation “Schrödinger’s Poetry” published in 2024 (Kankanbou, JP).