English Original
colored lights
swinging in the fog ...
House for Sale
Marion Alice Poirier
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
彩色燈光
在霧中搖曳 …
待售房屋
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
彩色灯光
在雾中摇曳 ...
待售房屋
Bio Sketch
Marion Alice Poirier is a lifetime resident of Boston, MA. She began writing haiku in 2001 and eventually began to teach haiku in workshops on Poetry Circle and Emerging Poets. She also write short poetry and have been published in on-line haiku and short poetry journals like Tinywords, Hedgerow and The Heron's Nest.
This haiku has a strong visual progression: from lights, to fog, to words. The colored lights initially suggest something festive, warm, or welcoming, but its L 3 shifts the mood abruptly. “House for Sale” introduces a sense of emptiness, transience, and perhaps even abandonment.
ReplyDeleteL 3 is especially effective because of its wonderfully prosaic quality. “House for Sale” stands in striking contrast to the lyrical imagery of Ls 1&2. This collision between the poetic and the ordinary gives the haiku much of its emotional resonance: what first appears festive and inviting is suddenly revealed as something transient, impersonal, and possibly already being left behind.