the sound
of a broken bottle swept
across asphalt
like the cry of a child
you have given away
Biding Time: Selected Poems 2001-2013, 2013
H. Gene Murtha
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一個破裂的瓶子
滾過瀝青道路
產生尖銳的聲音
像似你已拋棄孩子
的哭聲
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一个破裂的瓶子
滚过沥青道路
产生尖锐的声音
像似你已抛弃孩子
的哭声
Bio Sketch
H.
Gene Murtha, a naturalist and poet, sponsored and judged the first
haiku contest for the inner city children of Camden, NJ., for the
Virgilio Group, of which he was a lifetime member. He was widely published
for his work in haikai literature from the USA to Japan.
Gene's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet poignant ending that reveals the theme of abandonment. The simile established between the two parts of the tanka is visually striking (broken bottle) and heart-breaking/wrenching ("cry of a abandoned child).
ReplyDelete