Keith A. Simmonds, Trinidad & Tobago / France

Keith A. Simmonds was born in Barbados and is a citizen of both Trinidad & Tobago and France. He was a teacher of French language and literature at the secondary-school level in Trinidad & Tobago for twenty-five years. He is a lover of all types of poetry and writes haiku seriously since 2004. Some of his works appear in Mainichi Daily News, Capoliveri, Cascina Macondo, Simply Haiku, Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum Haiku, Revista de Interferente Culturale Romano-Japoneze, Shamrock IHS.

Fleurs de nénuphars

collées à la pleine lune …

étang lumineux

Water lily flowers

glued to the full moon ...

a bright pond

-

Un papillon rouge

tremblotant sur une rose…

gloire éphémère.

A red butterfly

quivering upon a rose…

ephemeral glory

-

Visiting hours…

mum keeps looking for

her forget-me-nots

-

La luz del sol

perfora el silencio …

el primer frío

The sunlight

pierces the silence…

the first cold

-

Mother’s last act…

the signature on her will

incomplete

-

A housewife sweeps up

the aroma of spring…

glow of cherry blooms

-

the mountain peak

propping up the sky…

hazy morning

Die Bergspitze

Stützt den Himmel ab…

dunstiger Morgen

-

A fleeting shadow

upon the white stork's wings. . .

mum's fading breath

Une ombre fugace

sur les ailes de la cigogne blanche…

le souffle affaibli de maman

Prolazna sjena

na krilima bijele rode ...

slabi majčin dah

-

A fisherman’s oars

caress the glittering sea…

symphony of light

-

Trêve de Noël

dans une zone de guerre …

cris d’un nouveau-né

Christmas truce

in a war zone ...

cries of a newborn

-

The leaning Tower…

tourists tilting over

for photographs

-

children at the beach

pouring pails of sunshine

back into the sea

-

Apple harvest…

the widow fills her basket

with ruddy sunshine

-

In a huge conch shell

a sailor’s widow brings home

the sound of the waves

-

Silky sky…

a seagull’s shadow

shifts the setting sun

-

dans l’aube estivale

bruit lointain des avirons…

chanson de pêcheur

in the summer dawn

the distant sound of the oars…

a fisherman’s song

Nell’alba estiva

rumore lontano dei remi…

canzone di un pescatore

-

une brise matinale…

le long reflet des narcisses

dans un grand étang

A morning breeze…

the long reflection of the daffodils

in a huge pond

Eine Morgenbrise…

die lange Spiegelung der Narzissen

in einem großensee

-

la pleine lune

s’attarde sur les lilas…

silence du soir

The full moon

loiters on the lilacs…

silence of the evening

der volle Mond

verweilt beim Flieder…

Abendstille

Enfants et parents

jouant follement dehors…

les premières neiges

Children and parents

playing wildly outdoors…

the first snow

© Keith A. SIMMONDS

Publication Credits and Awards: 1. Fleurs de nénuphars - PRIX SPECIAL POUR LA PARTICIPATION ETRANGERE, October 2018, 31ème EDITION du CONCOURS de HAIKU – DAKAR, SENEGAL; 2. Un papillon rouge - 1er Prix POEMES DES LAUREATS DU 23ème CONCOURS DE HAÏKU 2008, Sénégal; 3. Visiting hours - Tokusen / 2nd Prize, KUSAMAKURA Haiku Competition – 2016; 4. La luz del sol - Nyusen / 3rd prize, 24 th Kusamakura 2019; 5. Mother’s last act - Merit Award, MONTENEGRIN HAIKU CONTEST March 2017. 6. A housewife sweeps up - Commendation, Polish International Haiku Competition 2015; 7. the mountain peak - Chrysanthemum Haiku Magazine – N0 18, October 2015; 8. A fleeting shadow - Highly Coommended / Istaknute pohvale, UDRUGA TRI RIJEKE – HAIKU ( CROATIA )- AUGUST 2017; 9. A fisherman’s oars - Winner Foreign Entry, Haikufest: CRR Haiku Contest – February 2020; 10. Trêve de Noël - Honourable Mention, Mainichi Yearly Haiku Contest – 30/06/2020; 11. The leaning Tower - Merit Award, 29th Ito En Oi Ocha New English Haiku Contest – 2018; 12. children at the beach - Distinguished Work Prize, 4th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest 2012; 13. Apple harvest - Distinguished Work Prize, 6th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest 2014; 14. In a huge conch shell - Grand Prize, 7th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest 2015; 15. Silky sky - Commendation, Basho Festival Haiku Contest 2016. 16. dans l’aube estivale - International Haiku Contest ( Italian ) – 2010, selected authors for Anthology 2011; 17. une brise matinale - Chrysanthemum 13 – April 2013; 18. la pleine lune - Chrysanthemum 13 – April 2013; 19. Enfants et parents - Premier prix – senryu, de Haiku Valentin Nicolitov 2013.