English Original
Naomi Beth Wakan
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一張攤開的毯子
在盛開的櫻花下
青少年們玩智能手機
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一张摊开的毯子
在盛开的樱花下
青少年们玩智能手机
Bio Sketch
Naomi Beth Wakan is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Nanaimo (2014–16) and the Federation of British Columbia Writer’s Inaugural Honorary Ambassador. She has published over fifty books. Her most recent book of essays, On the Arts, came out in 2020 (Shanti Arts). Her trilogy, The Way of Tanka, The Way of Haiku, and Poetry That Heals was published by Shanti Arts in 2019. Wakan is a member of The League of Canadian Poets, Haiku Canada, and Tanka Canada. She lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, the sculptor Elias Wakan.
Within such a space of 11 words and 16 syllables, there are two contrasting types of interactions depicted in this haiku: one between humans/teens (L3) and nature/cherry blossoms (L2), and the other between teens through iPhones (L3).
ReplyDeleteTechnically-mediated communication is now a part of daily interaction. Naomi's haiku on a classic topic (cherry blossoms) with a contemporary/technical twist challenges the reader to rethink the overall impact of information technology on (effective) communication in humans and nature.
And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following haiku:
cell tower zone
I know the sparrow
by a ringtone
Canada Haiku Review, February 2019
Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
summer squall
my smart phone asks me
to repeat myself
NeverEnding Story, June 29, 2014
Ignatius Fay
power cut ...
a firefly settles
on my iPhone
NeverEnding Story, March 9, 2019
Kanchan Chatterjee