English Original
the landscape
of my naked skin
icy garúa
Modern Haiku, 49:1, Winter 2018
Samantha Renda
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
我赤身裸體
的風貌
濕冷的薄霧
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
我赤身裸体
的风貌
湿冷的薄雾
Bio Sketch
Samantha Renda has been writing haiku for several years and has a particular love for the work of our favourite drunken monk, Taneda Santōka. She brings to her own work a love for the natural world, scientific curiosity and a deep well of cynicism.
The contrasts (domestic vs outdoor; human vs natural; sultry vs wintry, ..) between the two parts of Samantha's "she-land/landscape of/as desire" haiku are visually and emotionally effective.
ReplyDeleteAnd evaluated in the geo-ecological context of the coasts of Latin America, Ls 1&2 could be read as a sexualized symbol of the coasts of Peru (where "most of the coastal desert is devoid of vegetation, except where garúa has an impact")
FYI: Garúa is a Spanish word meaning drizzle or mist. Although used in other contexts in the Spanish-speaking world, garúa most importantly refers to the moist cold fog that blankets the coasts of Peru, southern Ecuador, and northern Chile, especially during the southern hemisphere winter.
Garúa is called Camanchaca in Chile. Garúa brings mild temperatures and high humidity to a tropical coastal desert. It also provides moisture from fog and mist to a nearly-rainless region and permits the existence of vegetated fog oases, called lomas... While fog and drizzle are common in many coastal areas around the world, the prevalence and persistence of garúa and its impact on climate and the environment make it unique...
-- excerpted from Wikipedia Entry, "Garúa "
It might be interesting to do a comparative reading of my haiku below about the individualistic gaze of female desire/sexuality:
Deleterain striking rain ...
the firmness of her breasts
First published in Haiku Novine
Reprinted in VerseWrights, March, 2014