Butterfly Dream: Neon Haiku by Simon Hanson

English Original

after dark 

flashes of neon 

in tinkles of ice 

 

Shamrock, 45, 2021 

  

Simon Hanson 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

夜幕降臨

霓虹燈光閃爍

在叮噹作響的冰塊

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

夜幕降临

霓虹灯光闪烁

在叮当作响的冰块

Bio Sketch

Simon Hanson lives in forested Tasmania in the company of animals and birds and the sounds of a trickling creek. Formerly Secretary to the Australian Haiku Society he is currently co-editor of Echidna Tracks. He has an e-book collection; Desert Stones (Snapshot Press) freely available here for you. 

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.

A Room of My Own: A Season of Regret

snowed in

for three straight days

again, I check

the machine for the sound

of your voice

I dream 

that winter dream again ...

sadder than then

as I look out the window

at the sky, endless gray

FYI: This set could be read as a prequel to my tanka below:

It's me

I just wanted to hear

from you ...

fifteen seconds of soft voice

after ten years of silence

Gusts, 35, Spring/Summer 2022

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XV

Day and Night, Forever?

for Mark Twain who claimed, "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."

step after step

one by one to the exit

DOGE cuts

red district town hall 

a crowd-fest 

of boos and jeers 

distant sirens

free-ranging dogs pee

on the Trump Mural

Liberation Day!

the news on mute, I change

my baby's diaper

bursts of spring snow

Tariffs are a tax cut,  a twist

to Trump's mouth

FYI: DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. And the Convicted Felon Donald Trump is set to roll out his massive tariff plan on April 2, which he has touted as "Liberation Day in America."

April 3: On Fox Business, former Republican Senator Pat Toomey warns Trump's tariffs will be “probably the largest tax increase on American consumers in the history of the country”

And Daily Beast, April 3: JD Vance Tells Paycheck-to-Paycheck Americans to Suck Up Tariffs Pain

JD Vance is telling Americans living paycheck to paycheck that the pain from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will all be worth it—at some point.

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XVI

10% tariff on goods from the manless islands near Antarctica

the fight with one man

a sea of king penguins

trumpeting

FYI: USA Today, April 6: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's tariff rollout last week when asked why two uninhabited islands were hit with the fees, saying in a new interview "whatever."

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XVII

wecan'twaitfor 

$10, 000 made-in-USA

iPhones. iPhones now ...

flanked by a spray of flags

red-hattedTrumpistsshouting 

Added:

a dollhouse

in the rain-streaked window

of a thrift store

a girl holds her mother's hand

tight ... and tighter 

Added:

frost flowers

on my son's study room window

paper planes gather dust

A Room of My Own: Imagine

surge upon surge

of this sultry loneliness 

washing ove me ...

quiet in a seaside room

one night before the deadline

the blank page

staring at me for hours ...

this drunken night

I glimpse the nude muse

rising from a sea of words

the muse and I

mouth on mouth, legs tangled with legs

become a single dream:

my book in the front window

at Barnes & Noble 

FYI: Barnes & Noble is the largest individual bookstore in the world measured by square footage.

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LXXX: "wall of apartheid"

apartheid wall

only so far a child's eyes

can see beyond [his world]

FYI Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid".

And Human Rights Watch, July 19, 2024: World Court Finds Israel Responsible for Apartheid

The following quote can be attributed to Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch Executive Director:

"In a historic ruling the International Court of Justice has found multiple and serious international law violations by Israel towards Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including, for the first time, finding Israel responsible for apartheid. The court has placed responsibility with all states and the United Nations to end these violations of international law. The ruling should be yet another wake up call for the United States to end its egregious policy of defending Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and prompt a thorough reassessment in other countries as well."

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LXXXI: "Gaza's rubble"

to Kamala Harris, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate

what can be

unburdened by what has been

this soundbite 

becomes cheap and louder ...

a hand out of Gaza's rubble

FYI: "What can be, unburdened by what has been" is a quote popularized and primarily used by Kamala Harris, the current vice president of the United States and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate. A supercut of Harris repeating the quote was first shared by the Republican National Committee on social media platform X, on April 30, 2023, after which it became viral (Wikipedia, "What can be, unburdened by what has been")

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LXXXII: "war criminal"

written in response to Netanyahu's Congress speech

a state of dis/union:

pumping his fist in the air

the war criminal

opens, closes, opens... his mouth

to Congress for an hour

FYI: The Nation, July 25: Netanyahu’s Theater of the Grotesque

Mostly, though, the speech was notable for its lies. Netanyahu lied openly about his army’s ethics and conduct. He lied about starving civilians. He lied about the number of people he has killed. He lied about the antisemitism of American protesters. His only moment of deliberate truth-telling came when he declared his debt to his literal partner in crime, Joe Biden.

Added: Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XXIII

shouts from the beach,

go back where you came from ...

bubbles of memory

pop to the surface

of my immigrant life

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to my tanka below"

a kid trying

to kick sea foam back

where it came from

I remember the first time

a white man yelled at me

Runner-Up, Tanka Section, 2016 British Haiku Society Awards

Added: No More Fairy Tales, XXX

written in response to Jasper wildfires

smoky twilight

this wall

of fast-moving flame

Added: No More Fairy Tales, XXXI

sultry night alone

the long note

of a wildfire siren

Poetic Musings: Edge Tanka by Chen-ou Liu

alone

on the edge

of a cliff ...

behind my back

the shadow

Honorable Mention, Tanka Section, 2017 British Haiku Society Awards

Chen-ou Liu

Commentary (by the judge, A A Marcoff): Reading this was almost unbearable. It came with bleak, stark, shock

FYI: It might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading go the following tanka:

alone

at the cliff's edge ...

a shooting star

and yet

this lost dream

the art of tanka, 1, fall/winter 2023

Chen-ou Liu

Butterfly Dream: Long Rainy Season Haiku by Pamela A. Babusci

English Original

long rainy season --

reading the Kama Sutra

alone in bed

Frogpond, 24:2, 2001

Pamela A. Babusci

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

漫長的雨季 --

獨自躺在床上

閱讀愛經

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

漫长的雨季 --

独自躺在床上

阅读爱经

 

Bio Sketch

Pamela A. Babusci  is an internationally award winning haiku, tanka poet and haiga artist. Some of her awards include: Museum of Haiku Literature Award, International Tanka Splendor Awards, First Place Yellow Moon Competition (Aust) tanka category,  First Place Kokako Tanka Competition,(NZ) First Place Saigyo Tanka Awards (US), Basho Festival Haiku Contests (Japan).  Pamela has illustrated several books, including: Full Moon Tide: The Best of Tanka Splendor Awards, Taboo Haiku, Chasing the Sun, Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, and A Thousand Reasons 2009. Pamela was the founder and now is the solo Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women’s tanka; the first all women’s tanka journal in the US.

Butterfly Dream: Crow's Cry Haiku by Elmedin Kadric

English Original

living alone

telling one cry of a crow

from another

rust, 2023

Elmedin Kadric 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

獨居的生活

分辨一隻烏鴉的叫聲

和來自另一隻烏鴉

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

独居的生活

分辨一只乌鸦的叫声

和来自另一只乌鸦

Bio Sketch

Elmedin Kadric was born in Novi Pazar, Serbia, but writes out of Helsingborg, Sweden. His first collection, buying time (2017), was published by Red Moon Press.

Poetic Musings: Dinner for One Haiku by Joshua Gage

dinner for one ...

the budding cherry now

just another tree

First Place,  First Annual Solitary Daisy Haiku Contest

Joshua Gage

Commentary: L 1sets the tone and mood of the haiku while unexpected yet visually and emotionally contrasting Ls 2&3 invoke a sense of loss, hinting at the narrator's state of mood/mind: things that used to be alluringly beautiful now don't matter anymore. But, why? One simple yet thematically and emotionally significant question left to the reader's imagination and reflection.

The following two haiku might provide some of possible answers:

without you

the cherry blossoms a memory

of cherry blossoms

Sakura Award, 2016 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational

Tom Drescher

blossom rain

already a memory

and yet ...

Second Place, New Zealand Poetry Society International Competition, 2023

Chen-ou Liu

A Room of My Own: Midlife Loneliness Tanka

risky as smoking

15 cigarettes a day

this disease

of midlife loneliness

stares at me, me alone 

FYI: The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently highlighted the problem, claiming that loneliness was as dangerous to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It increases the risk of various illnesses like heart disease and raises quality of life issues like addiction, depression, the urge to commit suicide, and the odds of premature death.

Added:

3 a.m.

even the flower moon

for me alone

Added:  

harbor lights

dimmed by winter fog

a lone stray

Butterfly Dream: The Void Haiku by Rachel Sutcliffe

English Original

childless ...

I hug a teddy bear

into the void

FemkuMag, 1, June 2018

Rachel Sutcliffe

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

沒有孩子

我擁抱一隻泰迪熊

留在虛空之中

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

没有孩子

我拥抱一只泰迪熊

留在虚空之中

Bio Sketch

Rachel Sutcliffe had suffered from a serious immune disorder for over 16 years; throughout  this time writing had been her therapy, and it kept her from going insane! She was an active member of the British Haiku Society and has been published in various journals including  Prune Juice, Failed Haiku and Hedgerow.

A Room of My Own: Valentine's Day and Night

a teen couple 

share one chocolate heart ...

me and my shadow

dim TV light

my dog licks chocolate crumbs

I left behind

Added: a tanka sequel

I share 

one chococlate heart

and Valentine poems

with my post-divorce date ...

her scent on my fingers

Added: This Brave New World, CXLII

this year 45 days old

in the breezy sunshine

49th mass shooting 

FYI: Most of the mass shootings don't make the news in the US (CBC News, Feb. 14)

And The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 15: Gunfire at Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration kills 1 and wounds nearly two dozen, including children: 

“Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said.

Butterfly Dream: Funeral Haiku by Rachel Sutcliffe

English Original

funeral over

my shadow

walks alone

Runner-up,  BHS Museum of Haiku Literature Awards, February 2018

Rachel Sutcliffe

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

葬禮結束

我的影子

獨自走路回家

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

葬礼结束

我的影子

独自走路回家

Bio Sketch

Rachel Sutcliffe had suffered from a serious immune disorder for over 16 years; throughout  this time writing had been her therapy, and it kept her from going insane! She was an active member of the British Haiku Society and has been published in various journals including  Prune Juice, Failed Haiku and Hedgerow.

A Room of My Own: Thanksgiving Emails

reading between the lives and writing between the lines, LXXX

Subject: thanksgiving alone

To: my self [stuck in life] 

From: me

Date: November 23

at daybreak flickering birdsong

Re.: thanksgiving alone

To: my [drunken] self

From: me

Date: November 24

alive in this broken world

FYI: This is the first set of English language tanka written in the form of an email.

Added: This Brave New World, CXI

Now, This Promised Land

written on the 50th day of the Israel-Hamas War

the blood drips

from his big dirty hands

Netanyahu lookalike 

Hostages Square

a girl's candle flickers

in the cold air

FYI: Demonstration at what has become known as "Hostages Square," in Tel Aviv, near the Ministry of Defence, marked 50 days since Hamas attack on Israel...Hamas delayed the release of the second group of captives, accusing Israel of violating the truce, which started on Friday and is expected to last for four days... excerpted from Al Jazeera, Nov. 25: Tens of thousands rally in Tel Aviv amid delay in release of [second group] of captives.

And the following tanka could be read as its sequel:

This Brave New World, CX

Kidnapped

pasted over Occupier

pasted over Kidnapped

above the photo of a man ...

this battle for perfect victims

NeverEnding Story, November 18 2023

Added: This Brave New World, CXII

this hazy night

before the ceasefire ends

shortness of breath

Added: This Brave New World, CXIII

between his teeth

a piece of hummus-stuffed bread ...

maimed orphan's last meal

FYI: Haaretz (founded in 1918, the longest running and most progressive newspaper with with an "exposure rate of 4.7%" in Israel), Nov. 28: Gaza's Unfolding Disaster: When Humanitarian Aid Is Your Last Meal... Orphans are multiplying in the streets, the bombing survivors are traumatized and once the truce ends, everybody knows death may fall again from the sky at any moment.

...a representative of Save the Children stated, “Every ten minutes, a child in Gaza is killed by a bomb and every five minutes, a child is wounded, in an asymmetric warfare situation that testifies to the failure of international law, whose aim is to protect civilian lives.”

And Reuters, Nov. 28: WHO warns disease could be bigger killer than bombs in Gaza

WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris on Tuesday said the agency is already seeing a dangerous surge in diarrhea in Palestinian children.

“We saw a very high number of cases of diarrhea among infants and again, no, there’s no treatment available for them. You know, if you have a child with diarrhea you need to give them re-hydration in order to keep them going until they get better and if you’re not able to do that, they can die very quickly from dehydration.”

Butterfly Dream: Thanksgiving Table Haiku by Ignatius Fay

English Original

thanksgiving table

for one

leftover chicken

Frogpond, 43:2, Spring/Summer 2020

Ignatius Fay

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一人座

的感恩節餐桌

剩下的雞肉

Chinese Translation (Simplified) 

一人座

的感恩节餐桌

剩下的鸡肉

Bio Sketch

Ignatius Fay was a retired invertebrate paleontologist. His poems has appeared in many of the most respected online and print journals, including The Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, Ars Poetica, Gusts,Chrysanthemum and Eucalypt. Books: Breccia (2012), a collaboration with fellow haiku poet, Irene Golas; Points In Between (2011), an anecdotal history of his first 23 years. He was the editor of the Haiku Society of America Bulletin. 

Poetic Musings: Lonely Maneuver Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

I spit

on tonight’s lonely

maneuver,

I floss,

I scribble poems

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Commentary: Written in a traditional style of "Onihishigitei (demon-quelling force, characterized by its “strong or even vulgar diction" (Japanese Court Poetry, p. 406),  Sanford's "I tanka" effectively depicts its speaker's character through a well-chosen set of verbs ("spit," "floss," and "scribble) with a [lonely] performative act, "maneuver," in the central line.

And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of my "loneliness tanka" below :

at midnight

my thoughts and hand moving

across the page:

I tanka-barricade

the door to loneliness

Skylark, 3:2, Winter 2015

FYI: For more information about Onihishigitei, see my "To the Lighthouse" post, "Onihishigitei, Style of Demon-Quelling Force"

Reference:

Brower, Robert and Miner, Earl, Japanese Court Poetry, Stanford University Press, 1988, p. 406), 

Butterfly Dream: Wedding Bells Haiku by Padmini Krishnan

English Original

wedding bells

the seat next to mine

empty yet again

Padmini Krishnan

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

婚禮鐘聲

我旁邊的座位

又空了

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

婚礼钟声

我旁边的座位

又空了

Bio Sketch

Padmini Krishnan was raised in India and now resides in Dubai, UAE. Her poems and short stories have appeared in Stonecrop Review, Page & Spine, tinywords, and The Literary Yard among others. Her e-chapbook, Pinewood Hills, was published in Proletaria.

Butterfly Dream: Last Raspberry Haiku by Kirsty Karkow

English Original

alone again 

... the last raspberry 

sharp on my tongue 

Pegging The Wind, 2002 

Kirsty Karkow

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

再次獨自一人

... 最後一個山莓

嘗起來有刺舌的味道

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

再次独自一人

... 最后一个山莓

尝起来有刺舌的味道

Bio Sketch

Kirsty Karkow lived in Waldoboro, Maine, where she wrote haiku, sijo, tanka, and other short forms. Lyrical, poignant, and spare, her poetry reflected a rich and deep sense of place and spirit. Her haiku have won the Mainichi and the R.H Blyth Award and placed in other contests. And she had two best-selling books in print: water poems: haiku, tanka and sijo and shorelines: haiku, haibun and tanka , published by Black Cat Press.

A Room of My Own: For No Reason Tanka

the masseuse's hands

kneading my neck, easing down 

to my back 

once again I cry inside

for no reason ...

Added:

close as two pages

in Fifty Shades of Grey

we read each other

in the moonlit darkness

with our tongues, our hands, our hearts

Added:

I push her hand away ...

she whispers in my ear

you don't know

what you're missing

if you never had it

Added: This Brave New World, LXXXI

things as usual ...

another daylight

stabbing

FYI: CTV News, Feb. 23, 2023: Violent incidents against riders of Toronto’s transit system have increased by nearly 60 per cent since 2019, a new report from the commission's CEO finds.

And Breakfast Television, May 11, 2023: Our thoughts on random acts of violence in Toronto

And CTV News, May 12, 2023: 7-year-old Shepherd named Molly among the 102 candidates for Toronto's mayor

Poetic Musings: Childhood Tree Tanka by Chen-ou Liu

a black rope

hangs from our childhood tree

the sound in her chest

lonelier

than a winter gust

Honorable Mention, 2012 San Francisco International Competition

Chen-ou Liu

Judge's Comment: This is a somber tanka. There is a rope, but not just any rope which could have hung a tire swing, but a black rope with its connotations of death and the implication of a tragic event. The choice of winter gust adds to the chilling effect of the poem. Of the chosen tanka this is the only one in which the poet writes about someone else. The poet is an observer. our childhood tree tells me that the poet knows the story of the rope, knows the woman, and also knows the sound that is lonelier than a winter gust. Perhaps, the poet feels the same when looking at this tree.

One Man's Maple Moon: Indigo Evening Tanka by Pamela A. Babusci

English Original

another indigo evening

with windows wide open

to smell the rain

what is the color

of loneliness?

Second Place,  TSA Tanka Contest, 2020

Pamela A. Babusci

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

另一個靛藍之夜

並且每一扇窗都敞開

試著聞雨的味道

寂寞是

什麼顏色？

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

另一个靛蓝之夜

并且每一扇窗都敞开

试着闻雨的味道

寂寞是

什么颜色？

 

Bio Sketch

Pamela A. Babusci  is an internationally award winning haiku, tanka poet and haiga artist. Some of her awards include: Museum of Haiku Literature Award, International Tanka Splendor Awards, First Place Yellow Moon Competition (Aust) tanka category,  First Place Kokako Tanka Competition,(NZ) First Place Saigyo Tanka Awards (US), Basho Festival Haiku Contests (Japan).  Pamela has illustrated several books, including: Full Moon Tide: The Best of Tanka Splendor Awards, Taboo Haiku, Chasing the Sun, Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, and A Thousand Reasons 2009. Pamela was the founder and now is the solo Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women’s tanka; the first all women’s tanka journal in the US.