Sunday, November 17, 2019

Butterfly Dream: Last Wishes Haiku by Jane Williams

English Original

hard to read
Mum’s cursive loops
her last wishes

First Place, 2018 Australian Haiku Society Spring Haiga Kukai

Jane Williams


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

難以閱讀
媽媽的草書環繞
她的遺願

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

难以阅读
妈妈的草书环绕
她的遗愿


Bio Sketch

Jane Williams is an Australian poet based in Tasmania. To read more of her poetry, please visit her website

1 comment:

  1. This is a powerful haiku on so many levels and I’m sure there is more to this story than we will ever know. But like all good haiku, we can bring our own thoughts and memories to what is presented here. With a few well-chosen words, so much is evoked and the strong linking to the writing equipment brings this haiga to another level. The stunning use of the wording of cursive loops and the difficulty in reading, or perhaps knowing another, generates momentum that ends with the uncertainty of her last wishes. What’s written in ink, stays in ink, and our deep connections to each other are always a bittersweet mystery...

    -- excerpted from the judge's commentary, accessed at https://australianhaikusociety.org/2018/10/19/ahs-spring-2018-haiga-kukai-non-seasonal-results-with-comments-by-judge-ron-moss/

    The matter-of-fact-tone of this last wishes haiku adds poignancy to the haiku, and on second reading, L1 becomes multivalent, adding at least one more layer of meaning to the haiku.

    What's left unsaid is more potent than what's written.

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