in her bequest
my mother’s toby jug
missing one arm
I pick up the telephone
and call my estranged brother
Eucalypt, 20, 2016
Neal Whitman
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
母親遺贈中
的湯比水罐
缺少一隻手臂
我拿起電話
打給已疏離的兄弟
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
母亲遗赠中
的汤比水罐
缺少一只手臂
我拿起电话
打给已疏离的兄弟
Bio Sketch
Neal Whitman lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife, Elaine. Neal is the haiku editor for Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine and is Vice President of the United Haiku and Tanka Society.
Named after a notorious 18th century Yorkshire drinker, Henry Elwes, who was known as "Toby Fillpot," the pottery jug ,"Toby Jug" (sometimes known as "Fillpot"), missing one arm mentioned in the bequest, could be seen as a prefiguring of the speaker's estranged brother.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine example of middle-of-the-story tanka that leaves dreaming room for the reader's engagement.