English Original
breaking the silence
of the drought
acorn rain
A Glimpse of Red, 2000
Kristen Deming
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
打破乾旱
的沉默
橡子像大雨般墜落
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
打破干旱
的沉默
橡子像大雨般坠落
Bio Sketch
Kristen Deming was an accomplished haiku poet and lover of literature. Her haiku collection, Plum Afternoon was a finalist in the Haiku Society of America's Merit Book Award in 2017. As a past president of the Haiku Society of America and active member in the haiku community in Japan for many years, one of Kristen's enduring contributions to the haiku communities around the world was a weekly poetry column in the Japan Times called "Haiku Moments" that she co-wrote with a Japanese colleague for six years, helping to open the world of haiku to English speakers and to give glimpses of Japanese culture through the lens of haiku.
Unexpected yet multi-sensorily evocative and symbolically rich L3, which activity (i.e. acorns rain/falling) is "breaking the silence/ of the drought," Ls 1&2, makes this drought haiku about premature fruit drop environmentally conscious and emotionally poignant.
ReplyDeleteFYI: As a general rule, acorns mature in late summer and start falling from the trees in mid September or October.