English Original
midnight rain
not yet used to
motherhood
Honorable Mention, Sixth Annual Senryu Contest
Pragya Vishnoi
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
午夜雨
尚未習慣做為
一位母親
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
午夜雨
尚未习惯做为
一位母亲
Bio Sketch
midnight rain
not yet used to
motherhood
Honorable Mention, Sixth Annual Senryu Contest
Pragya Vishnoi
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
午夜雨
尚未習慣做為
一位母親
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
午夜雨
尚未习惯做为
一位母亲
Bio Sketch
Pragya Vishnoi lives in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India and works at a bank. Her haiku have been published in Better Than Starbucks, Presence, The Heron's Nest and Frogpond.
She loves reading Japanese literature, especially short fictions
written by Ryonsuke Akutagawa, Mieko Kawakami and Banana Yoshimoto.
I believe that you have to be a mother in order to fully understand the purport of this senryu. The first line, “midnight rain,” serves as a metaphor for the visceral feeling of this “not yet used to motherhood” state. It evokes the sleepless nights and struggles of caring for a baby and the postpartum depression associated with childbirth. Not having children of my own makes me wonder if there is indeed such a stage as “getting used to motherhood.” Just like the “midnight rain,” motherhood often takes you by surprise. In that sense, a mother is never truly prepared for the trials and tribulations that come her way. This poem skillfully highlights the constant challenges mothers face, just as much as life itself is unpredictable and prone to change ...
ReplyDelete-- excerpted from the judge's commentary, accessed at https://sonicboomjournal.wixsite.com/sonicboom/contests