Monday, September 28, 2020

Butterfly Dream: Police Phalanx Haiku by Jack Galmitz

English Original

A police phalanx
moves backward
a black woman

Applause Please, 2020

Jack Galmitz

 
Chinese Translation (Traditional)

警察所形成的方陣
向後移動
一位黑人婦女

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

警察所形成的方阵
向后移动
一位黑人妇女


Bio Sketch
 
Jack Galmitz was born in NYC in 1951. He received a Ph.D in English from the University of Buffalo.  He is an Associate of the Haiku Foundation and Contributing Editor at Roadrunner.  His most recent books are Views (Cyberwit.net, 2012),  Letters (Lulu Press, 2012), yards & lots (Middle Island Press, 2012), not-zero-sum (Impress 2015) and Takeout (Impress, 2015).  He lives in New York with his wife and stepson.

2 comments:

  1. Evaluated in the sociopolitical context of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the jux. of a police phalanx/mov[ing] backward and a black woman is visually and emotionally arresting and stunning, opening up an interpretative space for the reader's reflection on the power dynamic/imbalance between the police force and the black community (embodied in the form of a black woman in the haiku).

    And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following haiku about a black man included in the same collection:

    On the thruway
    a black man is pulled over
    a coffin is waiting

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    Replies
    1. Jack's haiku reminds me of one of my tanka dealing with a similar issue:

      the White House
      silhouetted against the sunset —
      with her fist up
      while facing lines of riot police
      a black woman takes a knee

      NeverEnding Story, June 1 2020

      Note: This tanka is inspired by the 14th and 17th photos in this collection of "25 Of The Most Powerful Photos From Anti-Racism Marches Following The Death Of George Floyd," accessed at https://ca.style.yahoo.com/25-most-powerful-photos-anti-104400485/photo-p-over-weekend-people-marched-104400375.html

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