refugees
sink from view
somewhere
in the ocean
of our apathy
Spent Blossoms: TSA Members’ Anthology 2015
Keitha Keyes
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在我們海洋般廣闊
的冷漠之中
難民們
從視線的某處
下沉並消失不見
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在我们海洋般广阔
的冷漠之中
难民们
从视线的某处
下沉并消失不见
Bio Sketch
Keitha
Keyes lives in Sydney but her heart is still in the Australian bush
where she grew up. She mostly writes tanka and related genres, revelling
in the inspiration, friendship and generosity of these writing
communities. Her work appears in many print and online journals and
anthologies.
The unexpected yet poignant last line makes a thematic shift from the objective description of a tragic event to the sociopolitical indignation against collective apathy. And the pivotal line, "in the ocean," now makes the ocean work effectively on two levels, literal and symbolic.
ReplyDeleteMy tanka prose below could be read as a poetic response to the "ocean of apathy" depicted in Keitha's tanka:
ReplyDelete"Routine Crises"
I key in the headline Dozens dead after boat capsizes. Phones ring, and laptops chatter with stories from around the world. Adrenaline pumps through my body like a tidal wave.
fading tracks
on an Aegean shore
at twilight
which of them belong to those
who drowned in cold water
I glance at the oversized clock on the rear wall of the newsroom. Its hands march closer and closer toward the deadline. And the refugee story waits to be replaced . . . with the latest news from the front lines of yet another war-torn country.
Haibun Today, 11:1, March 2017