Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Butterfly Dream: Sandwich Haiku by Michael McClintock

English Original

half a sandwich
to eat slowly
again tonight

Jesus Leaving Vegas, 1976

Michael McClintock


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

今晚再一次
半個三明治
慢慢地吃

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

今晚再一次
半个三明治
慢慢地吃


Bio Sketch

Michael McClintock's lifework in haiku, tanka, and related literature spanned over four decades. His many contributions to the field included six years as president of the Tanka Society of America (2004-2010) and contributing editor, essayist, and poet for dozens of journals, anthologies, landmark collections and critical studies. McClintock lived in Clovis, California, where he worked as an independent scholar, consultant for public libraries, and poet. Meals at Midnight [tanka], Sketches from the San Joaquin [haiku] and Streetlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka, were some of his recent titles.

1 comment:

  1. L3 not only adds emotional weight and psychological depth to Ls 1&2 about being "poor," but also conveys a strong sense of loneliness.

    My haiku below could be read as its prequel

    moonlight flooding
    through the kitchen window ...
    a meal for one

    Modern Haiku, 54:3, Autumn 2023

    And it might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading of the following haiku:

    alone again
    making an event
    of a sandwich

    Some of the Silence, 1999

    John Stevenson

    ReplyDelete