unfaithful husband
weeding the garden
non-stop
First Place, 2017 Mainichi Haiku Contest
Pamela A. Babusci
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
不忠的丈夫
持續不斷地割除
花園的野草
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
不忠的丈夫
持续不断地割除
花园的野草
Bio Sketch
Pamela
A. Babusci is an internationally award winning haiku, tanka poet and
haiga artist. Some of her awards include: Museum of Haiku Literature
Award, International Tanka Splendor Awards, First Place Yellow Moon
Competition (Aust) tanka category, First Place Kokako Tanka
Competition,(NZ) First Place Saigyo Tanka Awards (US), Basho Festival
Haiku Contests (Japan). Pamela has illustrated several books,
including: Full Moon Tide: The Best of Tanka Splendor Awards, Taboo Haiku, Chasing the Sun, Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, and A Thousand Reasons 2009. Pamela was the founder and now is the solo Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women’s tanka; the first all women’s tanka journal in the US.
Are there husbands like the one in Ms. Babusci’s haiku? That’s a very likely possibility. Accused by his wife, the husband goes out and just weeds the garden — at first, that’s how I interpreted this haiku. But according to the author, the subject is different. The betrayed person here (the wife) is furious. In the hot weather, with frustration and sadness, she tears out weeds from their garden — and at times even some beautiful flowering plants. It’s unusual to see a haiku about infidelity.
ReplyDelete-- excerpted from the judge's commentary, which can be accessed at https://cdn.mainichi.jp/vol1/2018/03/05/20180305hpe00m0sp001000q/0.pdf
many thx Chen-ou for sharing my haiku!
ReplyDeleteyou are very kind! blessings, pamela