AT THE TOMBSTONE, rensaku by Dimitar Anakiev (7 haiku)

                                                             Merit Book Award HSA 2006

                                                                English tr. by Jim Kacian

                                                                Drawings by Dragan Perić

St. Prokopie's Day–

with my father's final breath

we gather to grieve.

Summer funeral–

border stones of my village

sunk deep in the earth.

On Great Lady Day

kerchiefed women climb the hill

keening and prayings.

Alteration Day–

Father now gone, it is I

who feels the earth change.

Drop of well water–

the gravediggers unearth

my ancestor bones.

Dusty procession–

Dad takes with him to the tomb

all of the side roads.

Wafting by the grave

the scent of eternity–

a sprig of dried thyme.

                                                           Published by the Red Moon Press, Winchester, VA 2006