English Original
flipping through
the family album
grandma’s smile
trying to shield the hurt
her eyes give away
Cattails, Spring 2024
Kala Ramesh
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
翻閱整本的
家庭相簿
奶奶的微笑
試圖掩飾過去的傷痛
但是她的眼神卻洩漏了一切
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
翻阅整本的
家庭相簿
奶奶的微笑
试图掩饰过去的伤痛
但是她的眼神却泄漏了一切
Bio Sketch
Kala Ramesh is the Founder and Director of Triveni Haikai India, the Founder and Managing Editor of haikuKATHA Journal, an anthologist, and an external faculty member of Symbiosis International University Pune, where she taught a 60-hour haikai course from 2012 to 2021 — a first in India. She has organised eight major haiku festivals and to bring haiku into everyday spaces, Kala has initiated several successful projects in India.
The movement the physical action in Ls 1&2 (“flipping through / the family album”) to the emotional revelation in Ls 4&5 (“her eyes give away” the past hurt) feels natural and poignant. The contrast between the smile, L3 and the eyes, L5 delivers an emotional impactful shift.
ReplyDeleteAnd the use of the indentation of “the family album” in L2 is effective creating a gentle pause that mimics flipping pages.
And it might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading of my tanka below:
all the bitterness
locked inside her heart ...
the clicking
of grandma’s needles
late into the night
Atlas Poetica, 34, 2018