English Original
in weeds where we love
sudden lantern
of a firefly
Frogpond, 6:2, 1983
Raymond Roseliep
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在雜草中我們相愛
突然出現一隻螢火蟲
燈籠般的亮光
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在杂草中我们相爱
突然出现一只萤火虫
灯笼般的亮光
Bio Sketch
Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a Catholic priest and a haiku poet. He has been described as "the John Donne of Western haiku." He won the Haiku Society of America Harold G. Henderson award in 1977 and 1982. Two of his better known collections of haiku are The Still Point – Haiku of Mu, 1979 and Listen to Light, 1980
Sensual L1 sets the scene and theme while unexpected yet fresh and visually evocative Ls 2&3 enhance the tone and mood of the haiku.
ReplyDeleteAnd the following haiku could be read as its sequels with different emotional foci:
our bodies
listen
to light
Listen to Light, 1980
Raymond Roseliep
And
summer grass bed
where our tangled bodies lay...
all that remains
Asahi Haikuist Network, July 18 2025
Chen-ou Liu