old age home
her eyes follow
a queue of ants
Padmini Krishnan
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
老人之家
她的目光跟隨著
一排螞蟻
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
老人之家
她的目光跟随着
一排蚂蚁
Bio Sketch
Padmini Krishnan lives in Singapore with her husband and baby girl. Her work has been published in The Heron's Nest, Shamrock. Wild Plum, Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online and A Hundred Gourds.
Juxtaposed with the old age home where most residents are senile and time seems to be frozen, the unexpected yet visually and emotionally poignant last line sparks the reader's reflection on life [time, and aging].
ReplyDeleteNote: I'd been a volunteer for more than three years at an old age home in Pickering, Ontario. Padmini's haiku, especially L3, speaks volumes to me in a very negative way. Most residents I met there spent time lying in their beds and staring at the ceiling, or at somewhere/something.