Butterfly Dream: Rush Hour Traffic Haiku by Elena Naskova

English Original

rush hour traffic
a row of homeless tents
lit up by brake lights

Elena Naskova


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

高峰時間的交通
剎車燈照亮一排
無家可歸人的帳篷

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

高峰时间的交通
刹车灯照亮一排
无家可归人的帐篷


Bio Sketch

Elena Naskova lives in Seattle, WA.  She was born and raised in Macedonia and immigrated to USA when she was twenty five. Elena writes haiku in an attempt to capture the moment and its meaning.  She also writes poetry, short plays and she enjoys painting and photography.

One Man's Maple Moon: Lover's Grave Tanka by Pamela A. Babusci

English Original

visiting
her lover's grave --
a dying chrysanthemum
casts its shadow
upon her heart

A Solitary Woman, 2013

Pamela A. Babusci


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

看望
她的愛人的墳墓 --
一朵垂死的菊花
在她的心裡
投下它的陰影

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

看望
她的爱人的坟墓 --
一朵垂死的菊花
在她的心里
投下它的阴影 


Bio Sketch

Pamela A. Babusci  is an internationally award winning haiku, tanka poet and haiga artist. Some of her awards include: Museum of Haiku Literature Award, International Tanka Splendor Awards, First Place Yellow Moon Competition (Aust) tanka category,  First Place Kokako Tanka Competition,(NZ) First Place Saigyo Tanka Awards (US), Basho Festival Haiku Contests (Japan).  Pamela has illustrated several books, including: Full Moon Tide: The Best of Tanka Splendor Awards, Taboo Haiku, Chasing the Sun, Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, and A Thousand Reasons 2009. Pamela was the founder and now is the solo Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women’s tanka; the first all women’s tanka journal in the US.

Butterfly Dream: New Hearing Aid Haiku by Lydia Royen Damhave

English Original

new hearing aid
the trees are rustling again
even the stars

Chrysanthemum, 11, April 2012

Lydia Royen Damhave


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

新的助聽器
樹木又在沙沙作響
甚至連星星都一樣

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

新的助听器
树木又在沙沙作响
甚至连星星都一样


Bio Sketch

Lydia Royen Damhave, born in 1979 in Frankfurt/M, Germany. Living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Physician. Since 2012 published haiku and other forms of poetry in literary magazines. Translated Danish poetry of the 19th century into German.

Butterfly Dream: Plastic Bag Haiku by Brigitte ten Brink

English Original

winter beach
a plastic bag plays
with the wind

Tageshaiku, 19 February 2016

Brigitte ten Brink


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

冬季海灘
一個塑膠袋
隨風起舞

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

冬季海滩
一个塑胶袋
随风起舞


Bio Sketch

Brigitte ten Brink, born in 1949. Engaged in writing haiku and rengay and creating haiga. Publications in anthologies, printed magazines and Internet magazines. Member of he German Haiku Association.

One Man's Maple Moon: White Supremacists Tanka by LeRoy Gorman

English Original

white supremacists
in muscle shirts
the snow
can’t come
soon enough

Chrysanthemum, 22, Fall 2017

LeRoy Gorman


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

白人至上主義者
身穿緊身無袖襯衫
不過大雪
不能
很快地到來

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

白人至上主义者
身穿紧身无袖衬衫
不过大雪
不能
很快地到来 


Bio Sketch

LeRoy Gorman lives in Napanee, Ontario. His poetry, much of it minimalist and visual, has appeared in publications and exhibitions worldwide. He is the author of two dozen poetry books and chapbooks.

Butterfly Dream: Summer Field Haiku by Kanchan Chatterjee

English Original

summer field ...
a farmer talks to his goat
while chewing grass

Commendation, 7th Sharpening the Green Pencil Awards

Kanchan Chatterjee


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

夏天田野 ...
一位農民一邊嚼草
一邊和他的山羊閒談

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

夏天田野 ...
一位农民一边嚼草
一边和他的山羊闲谈


Bio Sketch

Kanchan Chatterjee is a Customs Officer from India. He started writing haiku in 2012. Some of his works have been published in NHK Haiku Masters, Frogpond, Under the Basho and NeverEnding Story, The Maionichi, Asahi Haikuist Network, 9th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum Haiku Contest and various other online haiku journals. He is one of the winners in the 2017  ETO EN Oi Ocha Nrw Haiku Contest.

A Room of My Own: Departure Gate Tanka

I wish
I could take you back
Inside me ...
once more I wave mom goodbye
at the departure gate

Cool Announcement: A Freebie, Biding Time

My Dear Friends:

Here is the link to late NeverEnding Story contributor H. Gene Murtha's last online chapbook, titled Biding Time: Selected Poems 2001-2013.

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.

Selected Haiku and Tanka:

twilight
a seahawk sinks
into the sound

winter dusk
an empty beer can
taps the dock

fishing
where my brother stood --
twilight chill

summer haze --
a crow flaps free
of the asphalt

dim light ...
in her nightstand drawer
a cold vibrator

morning dew
i trace my son's
              lifeline

spring mist --
a mallard paddles
through our stillborn's ashes

the sound
of a broken bottle swept
across asphalt
like the cry of a child
you have given away

nothing works
not even a smile
tonight
three women walk
thru my cigar smoke

how useless
these hospital gifts
for a stillborn ...
a withered leaf,
a fallen feather

thumbing thru
a romance novel
at a yard sale
i scan the sentences
highlighted in yellow

before i knew
a thing about war, or
of a bee's sting
i longed to be held
between your breasts

an iris
trapped in a vase
like love
there are things
we never wanted

Happy Reading

Chen-ou

Note: For more information about H. Gene Murtha's work, see my "Dark Wings of Night" post,  First Warm Day – H. Gene Murtha’s Bird Haiku by Jo McInerney.

Butterfly Dream: Waning Summer Haiku by Damir Janjalija

English Original

waning summer
cicada's mating song
in every pore

Modern Haiku, 48:3, Autumn 2017

Damir Janjalija


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

夏天漸近尾聲
每個毛孔都散發出
蟬的交配鳴聲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

夏天渐近尾声
每个毛孔都散发出
蝉的交配鸣声


Bio Sketch

Damir Janjalija (aka Damir Damir) was born on November 6, 1977 in today's non-existent Yugoslavia. A sailor by profession, a poet by vocation, and a dharma bum by choice. He published three collections of haiku: Imprints of dreams, Freedom in the mist and Filigree Memories. His poems have been published in many significant contemporary haiku anthologies, both in the country and abroad. He is the winner of several international haiku awards.

One Man's Maple Moon: Yellow Journal Tanka by Thelma Mariano

English Original

years of scribbling
in my yellow journal
locked away
what wind has opened
these pages to the world?

Thelma Mariano


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

鎖起來
的黃色日記中
有我多年的塗鴉
什麼風將這些內容
公諸於世？

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

锁起来
的黄色日记中
有我多年的涂鸦
什么风将这些内容
公诸于世？


Bio Sketch

Thelma Mariano is the author of Night Sky: a Selection of Tanka Poetry. She lives in Montreal and has published her tanka in literary journals as well as in various anthologies including Fire Pearls and Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka.

Butterfly Dream: Endless Stairs Haiku by Michael Dylan Welch

English Original

bills due --
in my dream
the endless stairs

tinywords, 18:2, 26 November 2018

Michael Dylan Welch


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

賬單到期 --
在我的夢中
無盡長的樓梯

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

账单到期 --
在我的梦中
无尽长的楼梯 


Bio Sketch

Michael Dylan Welch is the founder of the Tanka Society of America (2000), and co-founder of Haiku North America conference (1991) and the American Haiku Archives (1996). In 2010 he also started National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo), which takes place every February, with an active Facebook page. His personal website is www.graceguts.com, which features hundreds of essays, reviews, reports, and other content, including examples of his published poetry.

One Man's Maple Moon: Black and White World Tanka by Joanne Morcom

English Original

holding hands
we watch an old movie
imagine living
in a simple
black and white world

more grows in a crooked row, 2016

Joanne Morcom


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

手牽手
我們看一部老電影
想像
生活在一個簡單
的黑白世界

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

手牵手
我们看一部老电影
想像
生活在一个简单
的黑白世界 


Bio Sketch

Joanne Morcom is a social worker and poet who lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with four poetry collections to her credit.  Her work also appears in poetry anthologies and journals.

Butterfly Dream: Winter Thaw Haiku by Mark Dailey

English Original

winter thaw --
a prayer flag
of laundry

Acorn, 34, Spring 2015

Mark Dailey


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

冬天融雪 --
像是祈禱旗般
曬洗的衣服

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

冬天融雪 --
像是祈祷旗般
晾洗的衣服


Bio Sketch

Mark Dailey is an anthropology professor living and working in rural Vermont, USA. He has studied, lived, and researched in mainland China, and has a lifelong interest in Chinese language and poetry. He has devoted his poetry writing to haiku since 2013.

One Man's Maple Moon: Treasure Island Tanka by Simon Hanson

English Original

a little gem
this Treasure Island
gold embossed on leather ...
my son and I sail
into chapter four

A Hundred Gourds, 4:2 March 2015

Simon Hanson


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

這本書金銀島
有金邊浮飾皮革封面
是件寶物
我的兒子和我航行
進入第四章

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

这本书金银岛
有金边浮饰皮革封面
是件宝物
我的儿子和我航行
进入第四章


Bio Sketch

Simon Hanson lives in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia where he enjoys his proximity to the Pacific Ocean and areas of rainforest.  He is a committee member of the Australian Haiku Society and is published in various journals and anthologies.

A Room of My Own: Noonday Heat Haiku

noonday heat
the fire hydrant flushing out
kid after kid

One Man's Maple Moon: Drum and Rifles Tanka by Hazel Hall

English Original

drum roll
rifles at the ready
at the march out
she can't distinguish
her son from the others

Ribbons,  13:1, Winter 2017

Hazel Hall


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

擊鼓前進
步槍準備好了
在行軍中
她無法分辨出她的兒子
以及其他的人

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

击鼓前进
步枪准备好了
在行军中
她无法分辨出她的儿子
以及其他的人


Bio Sketch

Hazel Hall is a Canberra poet, musicologist and convenor of the School of Music Poets. She has published in a wide range of local and overseas journals and anthologies. Her publications include Sugar Loaf and Humming Birds with John Collard (2013), Eggshell Sky (2017) and Moonlight Over the Siding (forthcoming).

Poetic Musings: Bits of Night Haiku by Jane Reichhold

a barking dog
little bits of night
                            breaking off

Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku, 1993

Jane Reichhold

Commentary: ... Reichhold’s haiku extends the idea of kireji past the breaking point, to create a broken-off fragment — the concrete disjunction pulls the image/line fragment back into the poem. Beyond the obvious orthographic pun, the broken‑off third line has a sonic dimension as “breaking” has assonant rhyme and similar rhythm to “barking,” so it seems the broken night is, at the same time, the “bark bark” of a dog. This is emphasized by the circularity of the poem, which knits together the broken fragments of both “night” and the third line...

-- excerpted from Richard Gilbert's groundbreaking essay, "The Disjunctive Dragonfly: A Study of Disjunctive Method and Definitions in Contemporary English‑language Haiku," World Haiku Club, 3:2, 2003

Butterfly Dream: Trout River Haiku by George Swede

English Original

trout river
my shadow
has gills

micro haiku: three to nine syllables, 2014

George Swede


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

鱒魚河
我的影子
有鰓

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

鳟鱼河
我的影子
有鳃


Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000), Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

Butterfly Dream: Red Camellias Haiku by Fay Aoyagi

English Original

red camellias --
the assurance
of my breasts

Chrysanthemum Love, 2003

Fay Aoyagi


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

紅色山茶花 --
我的乳房
堅挺

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

红色山茶花 --
我的乳房
坚挺 


Bio Sketch

Fay Aoyagi （青柳飛）was born in Tokyo and immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. She is currently a member of Haiku Society of America and Haiku Poets of Northern California. She serves as an associate editor of The Heron's Nest.  She also writes in Japanese and belongs to two Japanese haiku groups; Ten'I (天為) and "Aki"（秋), and  she is a member of Haijin Kyokai (俳人協会).

One Man's Maple Moon: Secret Smile Tanka by Gavin Austin

English Original

a secret smile
led to wine and dinner
at a laneway bar --
in another’s garden
will the stolen orchid bloom?

Cattails, September 2016

Gavin Austin


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一個秘密的微笑
引領我到巷道酒吧
享用葡萄酒和晚餐 --
在另一個人的花園裡
被盜的蘭花會綻放嗎？

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一个秘密的微笑
引领我到巷道酒吧
享用葡萄酒和晚餐 --
在另一个人的花园里
被盗的兰花会绽放吗？


Bio Sketch

Gavin Austin, lives in Sydney, Australia and writes mostly short fiction and poetry. His work has appeared in many Australian and international publications and has been successful in numerous writing competitions. Gavin was the Featured Poet for the January 2016 edition of cattails.

Butterfly Dream: Ancient Trail Haiku by H. Gene Murtha

English Original

ancient trail
footprints fade
with the dew

Biding Time: Selected Poems 2001-2013

H. Gene Murtha


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

古道
腳印因著露水
而變得模糊

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

古道
脚印因着露水
而变得模糊 


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.

A Room of My Own: No Place to Rest Tanka

the chill
on the empty side
of my bed ...
my dreams leave her
no place to rest

Butterfly Dream: Soft Brush Haiku by Claire Vogel Camargo

English Original

the soft brush
of our hands folding sheets
cherry blossoms

Sakura Award, 2018 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku Festival

Claire Vogel Camargo


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我們折疊床單的雙手
輕輕地碰觸
朵朵櫻花

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我们折叠床单的双手
轻轻地碰触
朵朵樱花


Bio Sketch

Claire Vogel Camargo, a late-blooming poet, dove into haiku in 2015. Winner of a few awards, member of the Austin Poetry Society Board and British Haiku Society, publishing credits include Presence, Hedgerow, Failed Haiku, World Haiku Review, and her book, Iris Opening. She and her ice sculptor husband love dogs.

One Man's Maple Moon: Snail Tanka by Kozue Uzawa

English Original

one snail
found in the morning
slowly and gently
I become happy
and kind to everyone

Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, 2, 2010

Kozue Uzawa


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

早上
我發現一隻蝸牛
慢慢地，輕柔地
我變得快樂
並善待每個人

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在早上
我发现一只蜗牛
慢慢地，轻柔地
我变得快乐
并善待每个人 


Bio Sketch

Kozue Uzawa is a retired university professor. She works as editor of the English tanka journal GUSTS. She composes tanka both in Japanese and English. She also translates Japanese tanka into English and co-published Ferris Wheel: 101 Modern and Contemporary Tanka (Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2006), and Kaleidoscope: Selected Tanka of Shuji Terayama (Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 2008). Ferris Wheel received the 2007 Donald Keene Translation Award for Japanese Literature from Columbia University.

Butterfly Dream: Long Shadow Haiku by Angelee Deodhar

English Original

moon rise  --
the scarecrow’s long shadow
in a stubble burnt field

Autumn Moon Haiku, 1:1, 2017

Angelee Deodhar


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

月亮升起 --
在燒焦殘稈的田地裡
稻草人的長長身影

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

月亮升起 -- 
在烧焦残秆的田地里
稻草人的长长身影


Bio Sketch

Angelee Deodhar of Chandigarh (India) was an eye surgeon by profession as well as a haiku poet, translator, and artist. Her haiku/haiga had been published internationally .She didn't have her own website.To promote haiku in India, she had translated six books of haiku from English to Hindi.

One Man's Maple Moon: Rhythm Tanka by Keitha Keyes

English Original

dipping here
stretching there
I melt
into the rhythm
of your body

Frameless Sky, 6, 2017

Keitha Keyes


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

浸蘸一下這裡
伸展一下那裡
我融入
你的身體
的節奏

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

浸蘸一下这里
伸展一下那里
我融入
你的身体
的节奏


Bio Sketch

Keitha Keyes lives in Sydney, Australia in a small house decorated with ship models, antique irons and trivets. And a cocker spaniel. Her retirement would be very empty without the lure of writing tanka, haiku, senryu, cherita and other poetry.

Butterfly Dream: First Kiss Haiku by Corine Timmer

English Original

first kiss --
the tingling
in my toes

NHK Haiku Masters, April 2018

Corine Timmer


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

初吻 --
我的腳趾一陣
麻刺感

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

初吻 --
我的脚趾一阵
麻刺感


Bio Sketch

Corine Timmer lives in the countryside in the south of Portugal. She is an interior designer, poet, author, and nature lover. Haiku crossed her path by accident in 2015 and she’s been hooked ever since. Corine’s haiku have been published in various print and web journals and anthologies. She won awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

One Man's Maple Moon: An Inch of Sky Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

in this squalid
hole-in-the-wall
rented for a day,
an inch of sky enough
through this dirty window

Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, 1, 2009

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在這個骯髒
牆上有洞的房間
租住一天，
經由這個骯髒的窗口
看到一寸的天空就足夠了

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在这个肮脏
墙上有洞的房间
租住一天，
经由这个肮脏的窗口
看到一寸的天空就足够了


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 94 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka.  His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

Butterfly Dream: Summer Fling Haiku by Réka Nyitrai

English Original

summer fling ...
the hollow thud
of an apple

Asahi Haikuist Network, August 3, 2018 

Réka Nyitrai


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

夏天短暫狂歡 ...
一個掉落蘋果
空洞的砰撞聲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

夏天短暂狂欢...
一个掉落苹果
空洞的砰撞声


Bio Sketch

Réka Nyitrai lives in Bucharest, Romania. She was born in Transylvania, a land that she truly considers magic. She studied communication and political marketing. She always felt attracted to poetry, especially to short forms. In early spring 2018, she started writing haiku. Now, she writes haiku and cherita. She has been published in on-line haiku and short poetry journals like Under the Basho, Failed Haiku, FemkuMag, Scryptic Magazin and The Asahi Shimbun.

A Room of My Own: Childhood Home Tanka

I race
and weave through the snarl
of memory lanes ...
my childhood home
not found even in dreams

Butterfly Dream: Nightfall Haiku by John Hawk

English Original

nightfall ...
blowing out
the marshmallow

Shortlist, 2011 Touchstone Awards

John Hawk


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

夜幕降臨 ...
對著棉花糖
猛吹

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

夜幕降临 ...
对着棉花糖
猛吹


Bio Sketch

John Hawk’s haiku poetry is published worldwide and recently won 1st Choice, Guest Judge Selection, in the IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award contest. A communications professional in downtown Columbus, Ohio, USA, John enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and two children. He can be reached at johnhawkpoetry@gmail.com

( Editor's Note: This is the last haiku accepted for consideration for inclusion in Butterfly Dream Anthology, V)

One Man's Maple Moon: Old Couple Tanka by S. M. Kozubek

English Original

Valentine's Day
at the diner
with eyes cast down
the old couple
sits in silence

A Hundred Gourds, 5:2  March, 2016

S. M. Kozubek


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

情人節
在小餐館裡
這對老夫妻
眼睛低下
沉默地靜坐

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

情人节
在小餐馆里
这对老夫妻
眼睛低下
沉默地静坐


Bio Sketch

After retiring from practicing law, S. M. Kozubek spends more time now writing poems. His haiku and tanka have appeared in Frogpond, A Hundred Gourds, Prune Juice, Modern Haiku, bottle rockets, Skylark, is/let, Red Moon Anthology, hedgerow, and other publications. He is a member of the Haiku Society of America.

One Man's Maple Moon: Heavy Book Tanka by Wendy Bourke

English Original

I pressed his gift
of wildflowers
in the pages
of a heavy book ...
that I could not get into

American Tanka, 25, 2015

Wendy Bourke


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我將他的禮物
一束野花
壓入一本沉重的書
的頁面中 ...
那是我無法進入之處

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我将他的礼物
一束野花
压入一本沉重的书
的页面中...
那是我无法进入之处 


Bio Sketch

Wendy Bourke lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes, takes long rambling walks gathering photos and inspiration – and hangs out with her young grandsons.  Her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, journals, chapbooks and tanka publications. 

Butterfly Dream: Wineskin Haiku by Devin Harrison

English Original

lees settling
on bottom of the wineskin
yesterday’s words

Wild Plum, Summer 2016

Devin Harrison


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

渣滓沉澱
在酒袋的底部
昨天的話

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

渣滓沉淀
在酒袋的底部
昨天的话


Bio Sketch

Devin Harrison lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where he practices a minimalist lifestyle and spends time following trails through parts of the rain forest.  He is a winner of the Akita International Haiku Award, Japan

Butterfly Dream: Fisherman Haiku by George Swede

English Original

fisherman reeling in     twilight

micro haiku: three to nine syllables, 2014

George Swede


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

漁夫的釣竿拉進    暮色

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

渔夫的钓竿拉进    暮色


Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000), Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

One Man's Maple Moon: Edge of the Pond Tanka by Kathy Kituai

English Original

hesitating
alone at edge of the pond
a duckling ...
our son curled up in your chair
for weeks after you left

Eucalypt, 20, autumn 2016

Kathy Kituai


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一隻小鴨
猶豫不決
獨自在池塘邊 ...
你離開後幾週我們的兒子
蜷縮在你的椅子上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一只小鸭
犹豫不决
独自在池塘边 ...
你离开后几周我们的儿子
蜷缩在你的椅子上


Bio Sketch

Kathy Kituai is a poet, diarist, founder and facilitator of Limestone Tanka Poets and Kate’s Kitchen has received two Canberra Critic awards for supporting other writers.  She has facilitated creative writing courses in Scotland, SA, NSW, and ACT since 1990, has published 5 anthologies, a children’s picture book, a four-part documentary dramatized for NBC radio, 7 poetry collections, 2 CDs and her latest publications are Deep in the Valley of Tea Bowls and Ink to Paper.

Butterfly Dream: Magnolia Haiku by Joyce Budenberg

English Original

the bowls
of morning sunlight ...
a magnolia

Joyce Budenberg


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

沐浴在朝陽下
一片片的碗狀花瓣 --
玉蘭花

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

沐浴在朝阳下
一片片的碗状花瓣 --
玉兰花


Bio Sketch

Born in Scotland, now living in New Zealand, Joyce Budenberg works as a counsellor/therapist and has a love of reading and writing haiku.

A Room of My Own: Late Night Shift Tanka

back home
from the late night shift
this silence
and yet ... beside the bed
my German Shepherd

Note: The following poem could be read as a prequel to the tanka above:

long walk home
from the late-night shift
I shiver
at the cold sound
of my turning key

Atlas Poetica, 29, 2017

Chen-ou Liu

One Man's Maple Moon: Old Photo Tanka by Larry Kimmel

English Original

in the old photo
beside your pretty wife
you look so happy
in black & white --
the colors of ashes

Atlas Poetica, 21 Spring 2015

Larry Kimmel


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

舊照片中
你站在漂亮的妻子身邊
看起來挺高興
這黑白照片 --
現在看到卻是骨灰的顏色

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

旧照片中
你站在漂亮的妻子身边
看起来挺高兴
这黑白照片 -
现在看到却是骨灰的颜色


Bio Sketch

Larry Kimmel lives quietly in the hills of western Massachusetts.  His most recent books  are shards and dust (cherita), outer edges (tanka) and thunder and apple blossoms (haiku).