ルビコンは渉らず近江霾ぐもり　　柿本多映　

rubikon wa watarazu ômi tsuchigumori

not crossing the Rubicon

Ohmi is cloudy

with yellow sand

Tae Kakimoto

from “Haiku-kai” (“Haiku World,” a monthly haiku magazine), April 2017 Issue, Bungaku No Mori, Tokyo

Fay’s Note: ‘tsuchi’ (yellow sand from Mongolia by the wind) is a spring kigo. Honestly, I have no idea about the connection between the Rubicon and Ohmi district (current Shiga Prefecture with the Biwa Lake), other than a fact that yellow sand has to cross the ocean to reach Japan.