English Original
after the speeches
the honored dead return
to their silence
Dark, 1982
Cor van den Heuvel
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
演講結束後
褒揚的死者回到
他們的沉默
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
演讲结束后
褒扬的死者回到
他们的沉默
Bio Sketch
Cor van den Heuvel (March 16, 1931 - September 12, 2024) authored hundreds of haiku and haibun, including one of the most controversial works of the 20th century, one-word haiku: tundra. In addition to more than a dozen collections, he edited or co-edited a number of influential anthologies, most notably three editions of The Haiku Anthology, as well as Baseball Haiku. He also won three Merit Book Awards from the Haiku Society of America, a World Haiku Achievement Award at the World Haiku Festival, and the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Prize.
After these nice speeches, L1, about the "courage and sacrifice" of those who served their countries" Ls 2&3, the honored dead return/to their silence, show that the world leaders haven't fulfilled their responsibility to work for the "PEACE the fallen soldiers fought hard to achieve."
ReplyDeleteUnexpected yet thematically significant and emotionally poignant L3 with the concluding word, "silence," layered with multiple meanings, makes this Remembrance Day poem, an effective, "Biting NOT Barking" haiku.
And this haiku could be read as a sequel to my haiku below:
a thin layer of dust
on the Unknown Soldier Statue
Remembrance day
Remembrance Day
an armless veteran sighs
"what is life worth?"
NeverEnding Story, Nov. 11, 2024
FYI: Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law: Today, it monitors more than 110 armed conflicts and provides information about parties, the latest developments, and applicable international law. Some of these conflicts make the headlines, others do not. Some of them started recently, while others have lasted for more than 50 years.