one child
sits alone weeping
for a mother
the falling bombs
will kill twice
Giddy Nielsen-Sweep
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一個小孩獨自坐著
為失去母親
而哭泣
落下的炸彈
將會殺死他兩次
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一个小孩独自坐着
为失去母亲
而哭泣
落下的炸弹
将会杀死他两次
Bio Sketch
Retiring
from nursing for health reasons Giddy Nielsen-Sweep explored writing
techniques for ten years, developing a love of Japanese poetry. She
writes tanka, haiku, haibun and tanka prose. Her haiku have been
published in A Hundred Gourds. Now she is beginning to write more tanka. '
The upper verse depicts a not-so-unusual heart-wrenching scene in some parts of the world while the closing line, especially the closing word ("twice"), in the brutal, striking lower verse is layered with multiple meanings, sparking the reader's emotions and reflection on the fragility of human life in a war-torn country. Giddy's heart-breaking tanka reminds me of another tanka about falling bombs:
ReplyDeleteanother city
another market
so mundane
so commonplace ...
’til the bombs fall
Eucalypt, 17, 2014
Marilyn Humbert