English Original
sipping tea
sent by a friend
as a birthday gift
I am learning
to grow old
tinywords, 21:1, July 6 , 2021
Bill Kenney
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
喝一口茶
這是朋友寄來
的生日禮物
我在學習
逐漸地衰老
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
喝一口茶
这是朋友寄来
的生日礼物
我在学习
逐渐地衰老
Bio Sketch
Born and raised in the Boston area, and living for over 50 years in New York City, Bill Kenney was a professor for many years in the English Department at Manhattan College. He started writing haiku in 2004, a month before his 72nd birthday, and became an active participant in the New York City Spring Street Haiku group. His haiku were published in numerous journals and anthologies. And his collection of haiku, keep walking, won the 2021 Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards.
Evaluated in the sociodemographical context of a graying society, such as Western democratic/developed societies , the jux. of birthday and learning to grow old is timely, themtically significant and emotionally challenging.
ReplyDeleteAnd it might be interesting to do a thematic comparative reading of the following aging tanka:
three best friends dead
before they reached sixty
an ankle vein
pulses faster than my
watch’s second hand
outdoor café
a man as old as i
with a smile
that reveals a truce
with sadness
Arithmetic, 2020
George Swede