Poetic Musings: Sound of Home Tanka by Chen-ou Liu

a flock of geese

through the shelter window

a deaf veteran

touches again and again

the sound of home

Honorable Mention, Tanka, 2024 San Francisco International Competition

 

Chen-ou Liu

Commentary by the judge: In this tanka, I love the mix of senses, and powerful elements. A "flock of geese" commands our attention even without the rush of sound that is inherent in it. And the lone veteran who sees, cannot hear but "feels" it. The action brings to heart the reasons for the deafness... and separation from the flock... excerpted from the 

FYI: I also won the following tanka awards in the contest:

years in exile ...

moonlight rippling

the Pacific,

this narrow path

to the (M)otherland

First Place, Tanka, 2024 San Francisco International Competition

Thanksgiving moon

sparks on the rippling water

of Lake Ontario ...

from his cupped, calloused hands

a migrant's taste of home

Honorable Mention

Biting NOT Barking: Geese and Refugees Haiku by Ernest J. Berry

English Original

frosty morning

migrating geese

and refugees

Forgotten War, 2016

Ernest J. Berry

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

霜凍的早晨

遷徙的大雁

和難民

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

霜冻的早晨

迁徙的大雁

和难民

Bio Sketch

Ernest J. Berry was born in 1929 in Christchurch, New Zealand. After a decade of shepherding, he spent several years in business before retiring to a beach in Mexico where he rediscovered his boyhood love of poetry. He un-retired in 1993 and settled in Picton. After founding Picton Poets in 1994, he started teaching haiku in workshops, secondary schools  and haiku meetings. Two of his haiku books were honoured with Merit Book Awards from The Haiku Society of America. 

Butterfly Dream: Grey Day and Desire Haiku by Ignatius Fay

English Original

another grey day

a desire to fly south

with the geese

moving forward, 2020

Ignatius Fay

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

又一個灰色的日子

與一群鵝向南飛翔

的慾望

Chinese Translation (Simplified) 

又一个灰色的日子

与一群鹅向南飞翔

的欲望

Bio Sketch

Ignatius Fay was a retired invertebrate paleontologist. His poems has appeared in many of the most respected online and print journals, including The Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, Ars Poetica, Gusts,Chrysanthemum and Eucalypt. Books: Breccia (2012), a collaboration with fellow haiku poet, Irene Golas; Points In Between (2011), an anecdotal history of his first 23 years. He was the editor of the Haiku Society of America Bulletin. 

Butterfly Dream: Tramp Haiku by Denis M. Garrison

English Original

a tramp in my field

gazes at migrating geese --

so homeless and free

Eight Shades of Blue, 2005

Denis M. Garrison

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一位流浪漢在我的田地

凝視一群遷徙的鵝 --

如此地無家可歸和自由自在

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一位流浪汉在我的田地

凝视一群迁徙的鹅 --

如此地无家可归和自由自在

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 Rain, Eight Shades of Blue, Hidden River, Sailor in the Rain and Other Poems, and Fire Blossoms.

Poetic Musings: Calligraphy of Snow Geese Haiku by Chen-ou Liu

thinking of mom ...

the calligraphy

of snow geese

Third Place, 2015 Griffin-Farlow Haiku Award

Chen-ou Liu

Commentary by the Judge, Michael Dylan Welch: It's uncommon for a haiku to succeed with an overt metaphor, but here's one that does. As we contemplate the patterns that snow geese make, we realize that the straight lines they make while flying differ from their wandering tracks on the ground. Calligraphy is full of loops and curls, so surely the calligraphy these geese make is on the ground. In the context of thinking of one's mother, one might find longing in those wandering tracks, as if the geese might soon be taking off for a flight far away.

Butterfly Dream: Driftwood Haiku by Ellen Compton

English Original

driftwood gathering …

over the whispering surf

cries of geese

Modern Haiku, 23:3, Fall 1991

Ellen Compton

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

浮木堆聚 …

一群鵝的呼叫聲

覆蓋過海浪的耳語

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

浮木堆聚 …

一群鹅的呼叫声

覆盖过海浪的耳语

Bio Sketch

Ellen Compton was an award-winning haiku poet with a background in visual and theatre arts. Her haiku  collection, Gathering Dusk, received a Snapshot Press Book Award. And she was an editor emerita of The Red Moon Anthology series and a founding member of Towpath. Ellen credited her childhood in the Ohio River Valley for her deep love of the natural world and for her awareness of its fragility. 

Butterfly Dream: Withered Marsh Haiku by Chuck Brickley

English Original

withered marsh

one by one the last geese

lift into dawn

Modern Haiku, 10:3,  1979

Chuck Brickley

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

枯萎的沼澤

一隻接著一隻直到最後一隻鵝

騰空而起飛入黎明

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

枯萎的沼泽

一只接着一只直到最后一只鹅

腾空而起飞入黎明

Bio Sketch

A native San Franciscan, Chuck Brickley lived in rural British Columbia for 35 years. His book of haiku, earthshine, won the THF Touchstone Award for Distinguished Books 2017; the HSA Merit Book Award 2017, Honorable Mention; and the inaugural Marianne Bluger Book Award 2020, Honourable Mention. His haibun,“Is Where The Car Is," was nominated for a Pushcart Prize 2018, and another haibun, "A Banishing," received a Sonders Best Small Fiction Award nomination, 2019

Butterfly Dream: Twilight Chill Haiku by H. Gene Murtha

English Original

a V takes shape

flapping from the pond

twilight chill

Biding Time: Selected Poems 2001-2013, 2013

H. Gene Murtha 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一群鵝形成V型

拍打翅膀飛過池塘

暮色寒意

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一群鹅形成V型

拍打翅膀飞过池塘

暮色寒意

Bio Sketch

H. Gene Murtha, a naturalist and poet, sponsored and judged the first haiku contest for the inner city children of Camden, NJ., for the Virgilio Group, of which he was a lifetime member. He was widely published for his work in haikai literature from the USA to Japan. 

Butterfly Dream: Wildflower Wind Haiku by Pragya Vishnoi

English Original

wildflower wind
a child migrant drawing
the flight path of geese

Pragya Vishnoi


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

野花被大風吹走
一個小民工繪製
野鵝的飛行路線

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

野花被大风吹走
一个小民工绘製
野鹅的飞行路线

Bio Sketch

Pragya Vishnoi lives in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India and works at a bank. Her haiku have been published in Better Than Starbucks, Presence,  The Heron's Nest and Frogpond. She loves reading Japanese literature, especially short fictions written by Ryonsuke Akutagawa, Mieko Kawakami and Banana Yoshimoto.

One Man's Maple Moon: Departing Geese Tanka by Gregory Longenecker

English Original

one last dinner
one last kiss
departing geese
circle once to see
where they've been

Fire Pearls, 2, 2013

Gregory Longenecker


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

最後一頓晚餐
最後一個吻
出發離去的鵝
再次盤旋注視
他們曾去過的地方

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

最后一顿晚餐
最后一个吻
出发离去的鹅
再次盘旋注视
他们曾去过的地方


Bio Sketch

Gregory Longenecker primarily writes short-form poetry and recently released his book, somewhere inside yesterday (Red Moon Press), whose title was taken from a haiku shortlisted for a 2018 Touchstone Award.

A Room of My Own: Migration

the cry
of a lone goose
morning chill

no one around
I sing to myself
Take Me Home

Butterfly Dream: Glassy Lake Haiku by Debbie Strange

English Original

glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon

First Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest

Debbie Strange


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

明淨的湖泊
成群高飛的雪雁
拉起了月亮

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

明净的湖泊
成群高飞的雪雁
拉起了月亮


Bio Sketch

Debbie Strange is an award-winning Canadian short form poet, haiga artist, and photographer. Keibooks released her second full-length poetry collection, Three-Part Harmony: Tanka Verses, in 2018, and Folded Word published her haiku chapbook, A Year Unfolding, in 2017. An archive of publications may be accessed at http://debbiemstrange.blogspot.com/

Butterfly Dream: Twilight Haiku by Jill Lange

English Original

twilight --
a part of me too
with the honking geese

Cattails, April 2017

Jill Lange


Chinese Translation (Traditional)
   
黃昏 --
一部分的我也隨鳴叫的鵝
一同離去

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

黄昏 --
一部分的我也随鸣叫的鹅
一同离去


Bio Sketch

Jill Lange’s poetry reflects her lifetime love of nature, a deep sense of social justice, and a  diverse employment background including art and design, environmental education,and immigration law.  Currently, she is focusing on short verse, haiku, senryu and tanka.

Butterfly Dream: Migrating Geese Haiku by Marilyn Appl Walker

English Original

migrating geese ...
all the smiling faces
in the obituaries

Modern Haiku, 44:3, Fall, 2013

Marilyn Appl Walker


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

遷徙的鵝 ...
在訃告中
所有的笑臉

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

迁徙的鹅 ...
在讣告中
所有的笑脸


Bio Sketch

Marilyn Appl Walker is a retired teacher.  Since 2002, she has received international recognition with awards and publication in Canada, Croatia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. She lives in the small tourist town of Madison, Georgia, USA.

Poetic Musings: Glassy Lake Haiku by Debbie Strange

glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon

First Place
2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest

Debbie Strange

Commentary by the judge, Bruce Ross

Many haiku have been written about the effect of moonlight and the moon's reflection. This haiku is unique and highly poetic in its expression.

And the later-added photo successfully turns the haiku into an effective  haiga, not only heightening the visual focus of the haiku but also lacing itself into the reader's imagination.

Poetic Musings: Autumn Moon Haiku by Tracy Davidson

autumn moon

eclipsed for a moment

migrating geese

First Prize, 2016 Katikati Haiku Contest

Tracy Davidson

Judge's Comment by Sandra Simpson: A classic seasonal scene which offers two readings thanks to its pivot line – the autumn moon is eclipsed for a moment by migrating geese; the migrating geese are eclipsed for a moment by the autumn moon. Purists will know that in Japanese haiku tradition ‘autumn’ doesn’t need to be attached to ‘moon’ as ‘moon’ is recognised as signifier of that rich season – and an autumn moon is always a full moon or harvest moon unless otherwise specified. So this haiku has two season-setters – autumn moon and migrating geese – but I don’t find that to be burdensome as the poem is full of sound and movement (geese), calm (moonlight) and subtly asks us to ponder the mystery of the birds’ powerful urge to migrate at a certain time and uncanny ability to do so over long distances. The beauty of the moment is intact and shines as brightly as that moon!

So this haiku has two season-setters – autumn moon and migrating geese – but I don’t find that to be burdensome as the poem is full of sound and movement (geese), calm (moonlight) and subtly asks us to ponder the mystery of the birds’ powerful urge to migrate at a certain time and uncanny ability to do so over long distances. 

There is nothing wrong with using two season-themed words/phrases in an English language haiku. It all depends on how one effectively uses them to add emotional weight, psychological/aesthetic depth, or one more layer of meaning to the poem. And evaluated in the Japanese haiku tradition, the use of one kigo is a guideline (yakusokugoto, promise), not a rule. Japanese haiku masters, such as Basho, Buson, and Issa, used two kigo in their haiku. For further discussion on this issue, see my "To the Lighthouse" post, titled "Haiku with Two Kigo (or Two Season-Themed Words/Phrases" (relevant examples and informative reviews from Bill Higginson's Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac included).