in Bryant Park
2,753 empty chairs
not a breath of air
yards & lots
Jack Galmitz
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在拜恩特公園
2753個空椅子
沒有一絲空氣
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在拜恩特公园
2753个空椅子
没有一丝空气
Bio Sketch
Jack Galmitz was born in NYC in 1951. He received a Ph.D in English from the University of Buffalo. He is an Associate of the Haiku Foundation and Contributing Editor at Roadrunner Journal. His most recent books are Views (Cyberwit.net,2012), a genre study of minimalist poetry, and Letters (Lulu Press, 2012), a book of poetry. He lives in New York with his wife and stepson.
There is no human figure or voice in the haiku, whose Ls 2&3 are separated by two blank lines.
ReplyDeleteThe first two lines refer to a sea of empty seats, 2,753 in all,flooding the lawn of Bryant Park in surging waves of loss and grief on Friday, September 9, 2011, two days before the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. This unforgettably poignant exhibition used one empty chair to represent one 9/11 victim at the World Trade Center, and 35 rows of empty chairs completely covering the lawn faced south towards the fallen Twin Towers. The third line in the poem painfully evokes a persistent absence, indicating that this haunting exhibit was a visual reminder of the loss. Galmitz’s thematically effective use of blank space adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the poem.