a fishing hat
on the hook by the door --
widow’s house for sale
Kelley White
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一頂釣魚帽
掛在大門旁邊的鉤子上 --
寡婦的房子要出售
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一顶钓鱼帽
挂在大门旁边的钩子上 --
寡妇的房子要出售
Bio Sketch
Pediatrician Kelley White has worked in inner city Philadelphia and rural New Hampshire. Her poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, Rattle and JAMA. Her recent books are TOXIC ENVIRONMENT (Boston Poet Press) and TWO BIRDS IN FLAME (Beech River Books). She received a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant.
Thematically and emotionally speaking, the lovely glimpse into domestic life in the opening image is darkened by the unexpected yet emotionally poignant statement in the closing line.
ReplyDeleteTechnically speaking, Kelley's haiku is written in the keijo style (the style of the fusion of scene and emotion), and the opening lines are a well-sketched "sugata," an "image that suggests emotion without stating it."
For more information about "keijo style," see my "To the Lighthouse" post, "Keijo Style, Fusion of Scene and Emotion," which can be accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/2016/12/to-lighthouse-keijo-style-fusion-of.html