as if
still waiting to be claimed
a leather suitcase
in Auschwitz with the name:
M. FRANK, HOLLAND
Skylark, 2:1, Summer 2014
Sonam Chhoki
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
彷彿
還在等待被認領
一個奧斯威辛集中營的皮箱
刻有一個名字：
M. 法蘭克, 荷蘭
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
彷彿
还在等待被认领
一个奥斯威辛集中营的皮箱
刻有一个名字：
M. 法兰克, 荷兰
Bio Sketch
Born
and raised in the eastern Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Sonam Chhoki has
been writing Japanese short forms of haiku, tanka and haibun for about 7
years. These forms resonate with her Tibetan Buddhist upbringing and
provide the perfect medium for the exploration of her country's rich
ritual, social and cultural heritage. She is inspired by her father,
Sonam Gyamtsho, the architect of Bhutan's non-monastic modern education.
Her haiku, tanka and haibun have been published in poetry journals and
anthologies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, UK and US.
The emotionally suggestive power of this heart-wrenching tanka solely relies on the juxtaposition of Auschwitz and M. FRANK, "HOLLAND" ( 75% of whose Jewish population were killed during WW II, and whose most well-known Jewish victim was Anne Frank [whose sister was Margot Frank]).
ReplyDeleteHistorically speaking, most Jewish victims were nameless. They were "simply Jews." Phil Chernofsky, author of "And Every Single One Was Someone, " extremifies this concept by telling his version of "Holocaust in One Word, 6 Million Times."
ReplyDeleteHere is my tanka inspired by his book and first published on January 27, 2014 (For more info. about the book, see "A Room of My Own: A Tanka about the Word, Jew, http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/2014/01/a-room-of-my-own-tanka-about-single.html):
line upon line
page after page
the word
Jew
six million times
The loneliness in this Tanka literally cries out. Thank you for sharing this. Wonderful.
ReplyDelete