Nagasaki Anniversary
the constellation
we never see from here
Beyond the Reach of My Chopsticks
Fay Aoyagi
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
長崎原爆週年
從這裡我們從未
看過的星座
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
长崎原爆週年
从这里我们从未
看过的星座
Bio Sketch
Fay Aoyagi （青柳飛）was born in Tokyo and immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. She is currently a member of Haiku Society of America and Haiku Poets of Northern California. She serves as an associate editor of The Heron's Nest. She also writes in Japanese and belongs to two Japanese haiku groups; Ten'I (天為) and "Aki"（秋), and she is a member of Haijin Kyokai (俳人協会).
Below is an excerpt from Jack Galmitz's review, entitled Jouissance: The Poetic Achievement of Fay Aoyagi, which was published in A Hundred Gourds, 1:3, June 2012, http://www.haikuhut.com/ahg/ahg13/expositions02.html
ReplyDeleteShe gives us insight into what the horrors are that direct her to the imaginary world of literature in the following poem:
Nagasaki Anniversary
the constellation
we never see from here
The constellation is that mushroom cloud that killed seventy-thousand people immediately and seventy-thousand later due to disease and radiation. It is something not recognized "here" in America (although it is, of course, taught in schools).
Technically speaking, the thematic shift is psychologically effective.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm a little surprised by Jack's Americanized reading of Fay's haiku, especially of the constellation.
There are at least two interpretations of "we/here," depending on one's reading of the context of the locale. These two interpretations offer different views of the constellation.
I agree with with Chen-ou. I did not mean the constellation is the mushroom cloud in that dreadful summer in 1945...
ReplyDelete