Love Affair

no escaping it --
I must step on fallen leaves to take this path
-- Susuki Masajo

"love fulfilled...
fireflies leisurely await
the sunrise

firefly light:
I step off the path
of woman's virtue

pushing the knife
into white peach’s flesh
as if to stab someone

love from a distant past –
or the warmth of her sake?
autumn is ending

wishing to fall in love,
I pop a strawberry
into my mouth

pouring each other beer,
these men with whom I shall never
make love

my love affair
lies in the passing
autumn wind"                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                          Masajo Suzuki (whose real name was Masa Suzuki) is considered to be one of the most distinguished contemporary love haiku poets. She was born in 1906 as the third daughter of the owner of a seaside inn at Kamogawa, Japan. Besides being a famous haijin, she was also a successful business woman and inn keeper. Her life was filled with a lot of upheaval and loss. Her first husband "disappeared" because he ran huge debts. Her elder sister, who inherited the inn business, suddenly died and Masajo had to take over the family business and marry her sister's older husband. They had a troubled married life from which she "walked out" to start her own new life in Tokyo at 50. She opened and ran a famous watering place in Ginza, Tokyo, called "Unami", of which she took personal charge until she was 90. Her business and career as a haijin went from strength to strength and she made friends with some of the most famous writers and celebrities. Incredibly, Masajo never lost her humility and personality to put other people's interest first."