English Original
clinging
to bare branches
last night’s rain
Nika
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
附著
在光禿禿的樹枝上
昨晚的雨珠
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
附著
在光秃秃的树枝上
昨晚的雨珠
Bio Sketch
Nika is the pen name of Dr. Jim Force, retired educator, who lives in Victoria, BC. Beside writing haiku, he spends his time gardening, doing family history research, and walking his dogs with his wife. He is an active Rotarian as well as a member of Haiku Arbutus.
"Mono no aware" (もののあわれ?), literally "the pathos of things", is effectively conveyed through Nika's well-chosen word/phrases, "clinging," "bare branches," and "last night's rain." And the concluding word, rain, is layered with multiple meanings, adding emotional weight to the poem.
ReplyDeleteBelow is excerpted from the Wikipedia entry, Mono no aware:
Mono no aware (もののあわれ?), literally "the pathos of things", and also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term for the awareness of impermanence (無常 mujō?), or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life.