English Original
lurking
around every corner
the black cat
Mike Gallagher
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
潛伏
在每個角落
一隻黑貓
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
潜伏
在每个角落
一只黑猫
Bio Sketch
Mike Gallagher, an award winning Irish poet, facilitator and editor, has been published and translated worldwide. He hosts the monthly Listowel Poetry in the Park Open Mic sessions. His collection, Stick on Stone, is published by Revival Press.
Mike's haiku effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet thematically and psychologically powerful ending: the black cat, a carnivorous mammal that is symbolically associated with witchcraft and evil or bad luck in many cultures.
ReplyDeleteOn a second reading, L2 ( illusion or reality), layered with multiple meanings, effectively adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the haiku.
And technically speaking, this is a fine example of "ichibutsu shitate," a poem "which [focuses] on a single topic and in which the hokku [flows] smoothly from start to finish, without the leap or gap found in the composition poem" -- excerpted from "To the Lighthouse: Ichibutsu Shitate (One-Image/Object/Topic Haiku)," accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2015/01/to-lighthouse-ichibutsu-shitate-one.html
Thank you, Chen-ou for your incisive, informative and thought-provoking commentary on my poem. I, too, agree in general with Lee Gurga’s view about two-image haiku – the vast majority of haiku I write fall into that category.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I feel that you have made some very persuasive points regarding the validity of single-image poems, certainly enough to justify their place in the genre.
Thank you, also, for your kind comment on my technique, a compliment indeed coming from such an accomplished poet as yourself.