Love and Baseball in Seventeen Syllables or Less

Last week I had the pleasure of spending time with friends who spoke Japanese. These skills came into play late in the night when we pulled out a book of Baseball Haiku (yes, there is enough haiku about baseball to form a very delightful book edited by Cor van den Huevel and Nanae Tamura). Some of the haiku were translated from the Japanese, but the original Japanese was included, so Radio Guy (a little rusty from his distant Japanese minor and years teaching English in Japan) proceeded to read baseball haiku in the Japanese and then give the written translation. What a delightful evening! I strongly suggest you all do this (best accompanied by either ice cream bars or a small glass of Blantons bourbon as we did).

Here are some translated Japanese haiku verses and a few English haikus as well. All selections are taken from the book Baseball Haiku. While I don’t have direct permission from the authors, I give a respectful bow and extend an open palm filled with thanks and a shared awe of this great sport.

A couple on night games by Yamaguchi Seishi:

Watching a night game
The ordinary ground of night turns
Into enchanted ground

The night game
At the bottom of the stadium
The brightest spot on earth

A black ballplayer
The night game only just
Lights him up.


Until raised to Heaven
I’ll go to fields of green
Carrying my glove
--Yotsuya Ryū

Rainy night
A hole in the radio
Where a ballgame should be
--Ed Markowski

Summer afternoon
The long fly ball to center field
Takes its time
--Cor van den Heuvel

For those who remember the Yankees-Cleveland Game played in Cleveland in the 2007 post season:
Waiting to bat
The hitter swats
A swarm of gnats
--Sylvia Forges-Ryan

Above
The bartender’s head
Game 7
--Dan McCullough.

And finally, one for all of those who believe love and baseball can co-exist (like the Girlfriend):

Home run drive
Into the cornfield –
Fielder and girlfriend disappear.
--Edward J. Rielly

All from Baseball Haiku Edited By Cor Van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura. Norton Press. 2007

Got a baseball haiku? Send it on in to The Girlfriend. Email to aileen.mcinnis@gmail.com.