Friday, December 6, 2024

One Man's Maple Moon: Shanties Tanka by Robert D. Wilson

English Original

I listen
to autumn speak
through waves ...
thinking of young girls
birthing in shanties

Jack Fruit Moon, 2009

Robert D. Wilson


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

透過一波波海浪
我傾聽
秋天的細語
想念著年輕的女孩
在棚戶區分娩

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

透过一波波海浪
我倾听
秋天细语
想念着年轻的女孩
在棚户区分娩


Bio Sketch

Robert D. Wilson is Co-Owner of Simply Haiku.

1 comment:

  1. The implied contrasts, visual, auditory, tonal and emotional, between Ls 1-3 and Ls 4&5 are poingnat and socioculturally conscious.

    Teenage pregnancy (L 4) and home births (L5), without medical or midwifery assistance because of limited economic resources (as inferred from "shanties"), show the socioeconomic gap between the girls in L4 and the speaker in L1.

    What's left unsaid is as least as potent as what's stated in the tanka.

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