English Original
canned peaches
another one turns nineteen
as the trenches thaw
Joseph Howse
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
罐頭桃子
當戰壕融化時另一名
士兵已經十九歲了
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
罐头桃子
当战壕融化时另一名
士兵已经十九岁了
Bio Sketch
Joseph Howse (Terence Bay, Nova Scotia) is a writer, computer scientist, beekeeper, and orchardist. His debut novel, The Girl in the Water, is available at libraries and booksellers.
Joseph's haiku effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet thematically significant and visually and emotionally poignant ending.
ReplyDeleteThe twist in L3 reminds me of some of the iconic scenes from WWI movies. World War I was a war of trenches, a "war [also known as the Great War] that was supposed to end all wars".
And L2 implies that the soldeirs are youthful, now struggling to conquer "Life's Trenches during wartime," one of which, inadequate food, can be inferred from L1.
My haiku below could be read as a prequel to Joseph's:
snowonsnow...
the clink clang clunk
of empty troop trains
Commended, New Zealand Poetry Society’s International Poetry Competition, 2024