English Original
neon-lit evening
the thud-thud of a hawker
pounding papaya
Blithe Spirit, 30:1, 2020
Bob Lucky
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
霓虹燈閃爍的夜晚
小販搗碎木瓜噼裡啪啦
的叫賣聲
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
霓虹灯闪烁的夜晚
小贩捣碎木瓜噼里啪啦
的叫卖声
Bio Sketch
Bob Lucky is the author of Ethiopian Time (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2014), Conversation Starters in a Language No One Speaks (SurVision Books, 2018), My Thology: Not Always True But Always Truth (Cyberwit, 2019), and the e-chapbook What I Say to You (proletaria.org, 2020). He lives in Portugal.
This haiku is sharp and highly atmospheric, capturing a vivid urban moment.
ReplyDeleteLs 1&2 effectively bridge the visual (neon-lit evening) and the auditory (thud-thud, pounding), creating an immediate, immersive sense of place. The rhythmic repetition of thud-thud echoes the hawker’s labour, adding a palpable sense of movement and energy.
Ending with "papaya" in L 3 is both thematically and sensorially effective. The word introduces a burst of colour, flavour, and cultural specificity, bringing the scene into sharp focus at the very last moment.
Together, these details evoke the vibrant energy of a night market or a bustling Southeast Asian street corner, where the sights and sounds of everyday life become poetry.