Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Butterfly Dream: Prairie Graves Haiku by Denis M. Garrison

English Original

long grasses sway 
over these prairie graves 
a pallid sky 

Ambrosia, 1, Autumn 2008

Denis M. Garrison


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

遮蓋這些草原墳墓
的長長牧草隨風搖曳
蒼白的天空

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

遮盖这些草原坟墓
的长长牧草随风摇曳
苍白的天空


Bio Sketch

Denis M. Garrison, from Iowa, now lives in Maryland. His childhood was spent in Japan, youth in Europe, Africa and western Pacific. His poetry’s widely published. Garrison’s print collections include First Winter RainEight Shades of BlueHidden RiverSailor in the Rain and Other Poems, and Fire Blossoms.

1 comment:

  1. Enhanced by the use of the cinematic zoom-out technique, Denis's haiku creates a vivid sketch of life (L1) and death (L2) on the prairie under a pallid sky (L3). The modifier, "pallid," in L3, not only makes the sky look endless/boundless, but also enhances the tone and mood of the haiku.

    I think the following 4 haiku might work well as a sequence, "life and death on the prairie:"

    prairie skies ...
    among the wildflowers
    a horse's skeleton

    NeverEnding Story, July 3, 2020

    Pragya Vishnoi

    long grasses sway
    over these prairie graves
    a pallid sky

    Ambrosia, 1, Autumn 2008

    Denis M. Garrison

    prairie sky
    the depth
    of a sigh

    Winner, 2017 Touchstone Awards

    Rajandeep Garg

    a crow’s cry . . .
    the winter sky darkens
    into the prairie

    Acorn, 36, Spring 2016

    Chen-ou Liu

    ReplyDelete