Saturday, July 3, 2021

Butterfly Dream: Whisper Haiku by Michael Dylan Welch

English Original

funeral's end --
a whisper passed
from ear to ear 

Bundled Wild Flowers, 2020

Michael Dylan Welch

 
Chinese Translation (Traditional)

葬禮結束 --
流言
傳來傳去

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

葬礼结束 --
流言
传来传去
 
 
Bio Sketch

Michael Dylan Welch is the founder of the Tanka Society of America (2000), and co-founder of Haiku North America conference (1991) and the American Haiku Archives (1996). In 2010 he also started National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo), which takes place every February, with an active Facebook page. His personal website is www.graceguts.com, which features hundreds of essays, reviews, reports, and other content, including examples of his published poetry.

2 comments:

  1. L1 sets the theme and mood while Ls 2&3 reveal something "unpleasant" about the deceased person or his/her family members or the relationships among them, or the relationships among the deceased person, his/her family and friends and relatives ... or "just something about Human Nature. " This "guessing game/this reader's interpretations function/s like a chain of gossip/whispers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The following is a funeral "haiku sequence" (arranged by this reader) that could be read as a possible scenario for the backstory behind Michael's haiku:

      all day rain
      we argue over music
      for the funeral

      John McManus

      funeral sermon --
      the slide show
      fades to blue

      kjmunro

      funeral's end --
      a whisper passed
      from ear to ear

      Michael Dylan Welch

      after the funeral ...
      colors of the rainbow
      muted by dusk

      Rebecca Drouilhet

      Delete