Sunday, May 8, 2022

Special Feature: Selected Haiku and Tanka Selected for Mother's Day

                                                               New Life
                                                               for courageous yet struggling Ukrainian mothers
                                                               and the newborns of war:
                                                                                              
                                                               cellar shelter
                                                               her newborn suckles
                                                               in sleep

                                                              (French translation by Serge Tomé

                                                              abri dans une cave
                                                              son nouveau-né tète
                                                              en dormant) 

                                                               smoke-filled sky
                                                               beyond the cellar window ...
                                                               look on her baby's face

                                                               another 
                                                               night of artillery fire
                                                               her breastmilk runs dry

                                                               (French translation by Serge Tomé

                                                               un autre
                                                               nuit de tirs d'artillerie
                                                               son lait maternel se tarit)

                                                               Chen-ou Liu


My Dear Readers:

Today is Mother's Day, a day of honoring mothers and grandmothers for their contributions to our families, communities and society. I would like to share with you the following haiku and tanka about the different stages and impacts of motherhood:


breastfeeding
the slow drip of rain
on the nursery roof
     
Vanessa Proctor

midnight rain
not yet used to
motherhood

Pragya Vishnoi

mother’s blanket
the worn corners
of warmth

Rachel Sutcliffe

our laughter flows
from one street block
to another ...
mother's garden hose
spouting a rainbow

Chen-ou Liu

my mother
forgets morning glory ...
sitting by the window
she grows the flower
in her heart

Ikuyo Yoshimura

I brush
my mother’s hair
the sparks 

Peggy Willis Lyles

immobile for weeks 
I dream of my mother
playing her bagpipes
in the moonlit street ...
how we danced wild and free

Joyce Budenberg

mother’s log books:
rainfall in mm
sun in degrees
all these comings and goings
on the stage of her life

Sandra Stephenson 

Mother's Day --
although I know she's gone,
I knock
and wait for the distant
mountain to grow green

Rita Odeh

To conclude today's Special Feature Mother's Day post, I would like to share with you the following tanka written for courageous yet struggling Ukrainians who are missing their mothers today

a bouquet
of carnations wrapped
in moonlight 
all that is left
are childhood memories


Happy Mother's Day

Chen-ou

No comments:

Post a Comment