dew drops
on a blade of grass
my shadow
Gert W. Knop
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
晨露
在一棵小草上
我的影子
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
晨露
在一棵小草上
我的影子
Bio Sketch
Gert W. Knop, Pseudiónym André Steinbach. Born in 1943. Studies of Graphic Arts and Tropical Agriculture. Presently resident in Zittau, Saxony, Germany. He worked and lived in Israel, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and United Kingdom. Under the pseudonym André Steinbach, he writes poetry, essays, short stories, and fairy tales in German, English and Spanish.
Technically speaking, L2 functions well as a pivot while L3 works effectively on two levels, literal and symbolic.
ReplyDeleteThematically speaking, Ls 1&2 remind me of the Buddha's comment on ephemerality:
“Just as a dew drop on the tip of a blade of grass will quickly vanish at sunrise and will not last long; even so is human life like a dew drop. It is short, limited, and brief; it is full of suffering, full of tribulation …none who is born can escape death.” (Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha’s Words, p.206)
Evaluated in the thematic context of its preceding lines, the shadow in L3 could be read as a symbol of death, the inevitable. "My" "shadow" reveals the speaker's existential angst (understood in the Heideggerian sense of the phrase).
Share with you one of Japanese jisei (death poems):
Like dew drops
on a lotus leaf
I vanish
Shinsui
Note: In Buddhist art, the lotus signifies enlightenment.
Thank you Chen-ou Liu
Deleteand also for your great explanation!
All the best!
Gert
Dear Gert,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on having your haiku published on this amazing site! What a thought evoking poem. What a pleasure to read it today. Best wishes with all your writing endeavors.
Blessings,
Karen
Dear Karen,
DeleteI truly appreciated your kind comments! And I do hope that you are feeling better!
Blessings,
Gert