Butterfly Dream: Frayed Sunlight Haiku by Laryalee Fraser

English Original

frayed sunlight 

between the pilings --

summer’s end 

Ambrosia, 1, Autumn 2008

Laryalee Fraser 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

木樁之間

的磨損陽光 --

夏末

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

木桩之间

的磨损阳光 --

夏末

Bio Sketch

A resident of British Columbia, Canada, Laryalee Fraser was actively engaged in online poetry forums from the mid-1990’s until her death in 2013. Her poetry had been widely published in haiku and tanka journals, and  in 2006, she compiled an online anthology of haiku, "a procession of ripples."

A Room of My Own: Trauma Dumping Tanka

this church group

once again trauma dumping 

on each other ...

the closeness between their bodies

the distance   between their hearts

Added: 

the sound of fury

a row of houses dragged out

to sea by the storm

FYI: USA Today, September 24: 'I'm seeing homes in the ocean': Fiona makes devastating landfall in Atlantic Canada

...The Canadian Hurricane Centre called Fiona a "historic storm for eastern Canada" and a "potential landmark weather event" in a region where hurricanes are relatively rare...

Added: reading between the lives and writing between the lines, XXIX

a big stuffed monkey

stapled to the railings

of a bridge

to the oldest Black town ...

my wife holds my hand tighter

Added: Game Show 2024, VII

written in response to Insider, Sep. 24: Donald Trump shares Truth Social photo proclaiming him as second only to Jesus

in dim light

I'm the second greatest 

second greatest ...

he mumbles, staring at Jesus

on the wall of his psych room

FYI: Trump has made these grand proclamations himself. In August 2019, Trump told reporters in reference to trade with China: "I am the chosen one." He also shared tweets describing him as the "King of Israel" and "the second coming of God." ...Insider, Sep. 24

Poetic Musings: Nightfall Haiku by Mariangela Canzi

Kyiv the sun bleeds into nightfall

Cattails, April 2022

Mariangela Canzi

 

Commentary: The opening word, "Kyiv," functions like a synecdoche in this timely and socio-geopolitically conscious war haiku, providing a reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the action verb, "bleeds," paints a visually arresting and emotionally poignant image of a setting sun gradually sinking from the sky. And when juxtaposed with "bleeds," the closing word, "nightfall," not only indicates  that the Ukrainian people are enveloped in darkness, signifying the coming of death, but also suggests that tomorrow may be as blood-filled as today. 

Below are two of the responses inspired by the Ukrainian people:

shards of glass

on the living room floor

the pianist 

plays Chopin one last time

before fleeing her Kyiv home

smoky haze

in his battledress breast pocket

a baby photo

Frameless Sky, 16, 2022

Chen-ou Liu

For more see, my "Cool Announcement" post,  Frameless Sky, Issue 16, Dedicated to the People of Ukraine

Butterfly Dream: Argument Haiku by Michael McClintock

English Original

losing the argument

I look out a window

into space

Frogpond, 41:2, Spring/Summer 2018

Michael McClintock

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

    

輸掉爭論

我茫然地看著窗外

的事物

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

输掉争论

我茫然地看着窗外

的事物

Bio Sketch

Michael McClintock's lifework in haiku, tanka, and related literature spans over four decades. His many contributions to the field include six years as president of the Tanka Society of America (2004-2010) and contributing editor, essayist, and poet for dozens of journals, anthologies, landmark collections and critical studies. McClintock now lives in Clovis, California, where he works as an independent scholar, consultant for public libraries, and poet. Meals at Midnight [tanka], Sketches from the San Joaquin [haiku] and Streetlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka, are some of his recent titles.

One Man's Maple Moon: Bluebird's Cry Tanka by Christine L.Villa

English Original

his stand

on chemotherapy

the bluebird’s cry

nestles on the palm

of sunrise

First Place, 2015 Mandy’s Pages Tanka Contest

Christine L. Villa

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

他的立場

關於化療

一藍鳥的詠嘆

依偎在日出

的掌心

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

他的立场

关于化疗

一蓝鸟的咏叹

依偎在日出

的掌心

Bio Sketch

An animated story teller and an artist by nature, Christine L. Villa dabbles in children's writing, Japanese short-form poetry, and photography. She is the founder and editor of Frameless Sky -- a video journal showcasing poets, artists, and musicians in collaborative projects. She blogs her haiku, tanka, and haiga at Blossom Rain.

Butterfly Dream: Red Toenails Haiku by Larry Kimmel

English Original

stuck for an answer

I lower my eyes  --

her ten red toenails

The Necessary Fly, 2006

Larry Kimmel

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

被困住要給一個答案

我垂下眼簾不說話 --

她的十個紅色腳趾甲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

被困住要给一个答案

我垂下眼帘不说话 --

她的十个红色脚趾甲 

Bio Sketch

Larry Kimmel lives quietly in the hills of western Massachusetts.  His most recent books  are shards and dust (cherita), outer edges (tanka) and thunder and apple blossoms (haiku).

To the Lighthouse: Character/Persona Tanka

Character tanka, also known as persona tanka, are a genre where the poets take on the roles of other people. They are written in first-person or third-person accounts of a character's behaviour  towards/response to a certain life situation or of thoughts/reflections. A successful character tanka depends on selecting an interesting or a unique persona (mask in Greek) whose view of life or perception of reality is conveyed through an effective juxtaposition of his/her thought and action.

The following is a set of character tanka for your reading pleasure:

My heart: 

black linen 

hung at night 

in the shadow 

of a crow. 

Modern English Tanka, 1:1, Autumn 2006 

M. Kei

locked windows

and a dead bolt

used to comfort her;

tonight on the 9th floor

she plays some Bill Evans 

A Hundred Gourds, 1:1, December 2011

Marian Olson

fresh leaves

of a large elm tree

crumpled by wind

I am detested because

I wish to live passionately

Breasts of Snow, 2004

Fumiko Nakajo

in my closet

clothes for all occasions

yet the years

it took to be comfortable

in my own skin

The Tang of Nasturtiums, 2012

Carole MacRury

To conclude today's post, share with you three of my character tanka with different personalities: one timid, another arrogantly dreamy, and the last racist.

I've the right

to swing my fist, but this freedom

stops at the tip

of my love rival's nose ...

I shout before the mirror

alone 

by the penthouse window

my friend repeats 

this is America

why settle for pretty good? 

a policeman

throws a black woman

into the mud

shouting, she held a knife!

(found only in his mind)

Chen-ou

Added: reading between the lives and writing between the lines, XXVII

God, my country

just hard work, no handouts ...

in the spotlight

the mayor punctuates his words

with a gavel-on-the-desk gesture

A Room of My Own: Imperial leftovers: Seeing Is Believing

written in response to The New Yorker, September 10: The monarchy presents itself as a “mysterious and magical inheritor of an endless past.” Would Britain be better off without it?"

a double-rainbow

breaking through gray clouds

over Buckingham ...

on its gold and black rails

notice of the Queen's death

Oh god I hate this

as the "King" signs his name 

with a leaking pen ...

I recall his "my luck" laughter

in the leaked "tampon" phone call

the adulterer

who once talked dirty on the phone

now Liege Lord --

a woman yelling Not My King

surrounded by policemen

"Prince" Andrew

walks behind the Queen's coffin

down the Royal Mile --

a shout from the packed crowd

you’re a sick old man

boos heard clearly

over the crowd of well-wishers 

greeting the "King" --

on the Cardiff Castle walls

Abolish the Monarchy

a meteor

streaks across the sky

over London --

the Queen once claimed

I've to be seen to be believed

royal members

take turns to watch over

the Queen's coffin ...

"Prince" Andrew in uniform

as mourners file past, bowing

at last the end

of ten days of mourning ...

as the sun sets

in the shadow of Big Ben

an old man and his wife

new royal

favorites and suchlike 

jostle for spots 

on Buckingham Palace's balcony ...

kids in a bakery window

FYI:  Child Poverty and Action Group, UK: ... There were 3.9 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2020-21. That's 27 per cent of children, or eight in a classroom of 30...

FYI: MoneyWise, September 18: The Crown Estate — estimated at over $34B in assets — now belongs to King Charles III. But he won't have to pay the UK's 40% inheritance tax. 

Queen Elizabeth II's death involves a transfer of her personal wealth of roughly $500 million to her first son, Charles. That means he doesn’t have to send roughly $200 million of Queen Elizabeth’s $500 million estate to the tax collector.

And FYI: The New Yorker, September 10: "The Fantasy Behind Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign: The monarchy presents itself as a “mysterious and magical inheritor of an endless past.” Would Britain be better off without it?"

The job of the monarchy is “to provide a kind of space and style, a kind of mystique, a kind of secular religion, if you like, in which people can feel some sort of kinship and community with each other.

-- Simon Schama, Historian of British History

Added: written on the day of the Queen's Funeral

inside   Westminster Abbey

outside Westminster Abbey

two-minute silence

FYI: This haiku is a "politically neutral" sequel to my 9-tanka sequence, Imperial leftovers: Seeing Is Believing 

Added:

Fallout

written in response to Judith Butler's remark: “One way of posing the question of who ‘we’ are... is by asking whose lives are considered valuable, whose lives are mourned, and whose lives are considered un-grievable.

long live the king

rest in peace, your majesty

written on the loaves ...

many food banks closed 

for the Queen's funeral 

our beloved Queen

forever in our thoughts

scrawled in black ink

on the top of the boulder

in Holocaust Memorial Garden 

FYI: Yahoo News UK, September September 19: "Profoundly inappropriate:" Tributes left for Queen at Holocaust memorial spark backlash. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Closet Tanka by Carole MacRury

English Original

in my closet

clothes for all occasions

yet the years

it took to be comfortable

in my own skin

The Tang of Nasturtiums, 2012

Carole MacRury 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在我的衣櫥裡

有適合各種場合的衣服

然而花了幾年的時間

才對我的舉止和身份

感到舒適

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在我的衣橱里

有适合各种场合的衣服

然而花了几年的时间

才对我的举止和身份

感到舒适

Bio Sketch

Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work.  She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).  

Butterfly Dream: Tsunami of Mosquitoes Haiku by Ali Znaidi

English Original

after the hurricane 

a tsunami

of mosquitoes

Haiku Laureate, 2022 Hexapod Haiku Challenge

Ali Znaidi

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

颶風過後

像海嘯一般強大

群聚的蚊子

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

飓风过后

像海啸一般强大

群聚的蚊子

Bio Sketch

Ali Znaidi (b.1977) is a Tunisian poet, haikuist, writer, and translator living in Redeyef, Tunisia. A former English teacher with a degree in Anglo-American studies, Znaidi published a haiku collection, Bye, Donna Summer! (2014), and his haiku have been included in top international haiku journals. His honors include a nomination for the Pushcart Prize in 2018, a silver medal in the UPLI Global Poetry Contest in 2015, the Grand Prize in the 8th Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest in 2016, and a Special Recognition/Lauréates in the 2013 Fujisan Haiku Contest. Follow him on Twitter at @AliZnaidi.

Hot News: A New Milestone, 1.45 M Pageviews and Call for Submissions

My Dear Friends:

Launched on the first day of 2013, NeverEnding Story crossed the 1.45 million view mark late last night.

I am grateful to everyone who has been a part of this poetry journey. And look forward to reading your haiku and tanka. 

See anthology submission guidelines for haiku and tanka. The accepted haiku and tanka will be translated into Chinese and posted on NeverEnding Story and Twitter. And You are welcome to follow me on Twitter at @ericcoliu (4 following, 4395 followers).

on the windowsill

two canaries singing

to each other

I tweet and retweet

NeverEnding Story  😋

We read to know we're "not alone."

-- The character of C.S. Lewis in William Nicholson's play, "Shadowlands" 

The proper response to a poem is "another poem."

-- Phyllis Webb 

Happy Reading and Writing 

Chen-ou

A Room of My Own: Now Liege Lord Tanka

This Brave New World, LIV

the adulterer

who once talked dirty on the phone

now Liege Lord ...

a man shouting Not My King

surrounded by policemen

Note: L2 refers to “Tampongate,” sometimes misogynistically called “Camillagate,” ... a secretly recorded conversation between Charles and Camilla in 1989, in which the Prince of Wales joked that he’d like to be Camilla’s tampon. See a transcript of the exchange, as provided by the Mirror. -- HuffPost, May 13, 2020: Prince Charles And Camilla's Infamous 'Tampongate' Chat Won't Make "The Crown:"It's the one scene the Netflix hit won't cover.

FYI: ABC News, September 14: As the UK mourns the Queen, police treatment of Not My King protesters is sparking freedom of speech fears.

Added: This Brave New World, LV

Oh god I hate this

as the "King" signs his name 

with a leaking pen ...

I recall his "my luck" laughter

in the leaked "tampon" phone call

FYI: The Guardian, September 13: ‘Oh god I hate this’: King Charles expresses frustration over leaking pen:

“Oh god I hate this (pen)!” Charles said, standing up and handing the pen to his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort.

“Oh look, it’s going everywhere,” Camilla said as her husband wiped his fingers.

“I can’t bear this bloody thing … every stinking time,” Charles said as he walked away.

Below is an excerpt from the transcript of the 1989 exchange Prince Charles and his mistress, Camilla, infamously known as "Tampongate:"  

CAMILLA: Mmm, so do I. I need you all the week. All the time.

CHARLES: Oh, God. I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!

CAMILLA (laughing): What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? (Both laugh). Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers.

CHARLES: Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck! (Laughs)

CAMILLA: You are a complete idiot! (Laughs) Oh, what a wonderful idea.

Added: Game Show 2024, VI

written in response to Ted Cruz's Sep. 9 remark: Republicans are "lying" or "idiotic" if they dismiss Trump for 2024

a collapsed fence

among morning glory vines

Trump 2024

FYI: CNN, "The Point," September 9: Ted Cruz nails something fundamental about Donald Trump and 2024. And The Independent, September 15: Trump threatens ‘big problems’ for US if he’s indicted in stolen documents scandal

Speaking on the conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Mr Trump said an indictment would not deter him from running for president because he would have “no prohibition against running”.

“But I think if it happened, I think you'd have problems in this country the likes of which perhaps, we've never seen before. I don't think the people of the United States would stand for it,” he added.

One Man's Maple Moon: Bill Evans Tanka by Marian Olson

English Original 

locked windows

and a dead bolt

used to comfort her;

tonight on the 9th floor

she plays some Bill Evans 

A Hundred Gourds, 1:1, December 2011

Marian Olson

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

封鎖的窗戶

和一個釘死的螺栓

用來安慰她；

今晚獨居在九樓

她播放比爾埃文斯的爵士歌曲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

封锁的窗户

和一个钉死的螺栓

用来安慰她；

今晚独居在九楼

她播放比尔埃文斯的爵士歌曲

Bio Sketch

Marian Olson, non-fiction writer and widely published international poet, was the author of nine books of poetry, including the award winning haiku in Songs of the Chicken Yard, Desert Hours, Consider This, and Moondance.  Published in 2017, The Other and Kaleidoscope were her first books of tanka.

Butterfly Dream: Gnarled Oak Haiku by Kirsty Karkow

English Original

gnarled oak

my path to the hills

starts in mist

Modern Haiku, 33:2, Summer 2002

Kirsty Karkow

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

錯節盤根的橡樹

我的山路之行

在霧中開始

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

错节盘根的橡树

我的山路之行

在雾中开始

Bio Sketch

Kirsty Karkow lived in Waldoboro, Maine, where she wrote haiku, sijo, tanka, and other short forms. Lyrical, poignant, and spare, her poetry reflected a rich and deep sense of place and spirit. Her haiku had won the Mainichi and the R.H Blyth Award and have placed in other contests. And she had two best-selling books in print: water poems: haiku, tanka and sijo and shorelines: haiku, haibun and tanka , published by Black Cat Press.

Special Feature: Selected Haiku for the Enduring Legacy of 9/11

My Dear Friends and Readers:

President Joe Biden quoted the late Queen Elizabeth II in a speech at the Pentagon on Sunday remembering the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Grief is the price we pay for love.

The following haiku are selected for your reflections on the enduring legacy of 9/11

ink-dark

smoke

of

a

life

jumping

from

the

north

tower

Shot Glass,7, June 2012

Chen-ou Liu

twin towers

repeating their absence

day after day

World Haiku Review, January 2007

Bill Kenney

two light beams shining

where there were once twin towers –

my son, my daughter

Grand Prize, 15th International “Kusamakura” Haiku Competition

Jack Galmitz

To conclude today's 9/11 Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following haiku set about the lingering of grief and loss decades after 9/11:

9/11, Then and Now

sleepless again ...

the lingering thoughts

of “if only” 

Sunday breakfast

between us a glass-top table

and the silence

Chen-ou 

FYI: In his speech at the Pentagon commemorating the 21st anniversary of the deadly attacks, President Joe Biden repeatedly called for remembrance and unity:

I hope we’ll remember that amidst those dark days, we dug deep, we cared for each other, and we came together.