Chen-ou Liu's Translation Project: First English-Chinese Haiku and Tanka Blog

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Anatomy of a Genocide

The following two entries, XXXVIII: "Israeli strikes" and XXXIX: "illegal settlement," of Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words about what has been happing in both Gaza and the West Bank, written in response to UN report, The Anatomy of a Genocide

Gaza: "Israeli strikes"

dating profile photo:
a smiling twentysomething
with a M4
in front of mushroom clouds
from Israeli strikes in Gaza



FYI: Haaretz, March 24: 'We're Not Only Here to Fuck Hamas': How Israeli Militarism Took Over Online Dating: Why are Israeli soldiers uploading photos of themselves inside Gazan homes or with Palestinian detainees to their dating profiles? Beyond the 'uniform effect' which turned U.S. firefighters into heroes after September 11, some experts say the violent militarism seen on dating apps is leading to disturbing trends in Israeli society – online and off

The American M4 and the Israel Tavor (in various guises) are the primary weapons of the IDF.

Reuters, March 28Israeli soldiers play with Gaza women's underwear in online posts

In one video, an Israeli soldier sits in an armchair in a room in Gaza grinning, with a gun in one hand and dangling white satin underwear from the other over the open mouth of a comrade lying on a sofa.

"The posting of such images is demeaning to Palestinian women, and all women," said Ravina Shamdasani, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson.

Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention says civilians are entitled to respect for their honour, family rights, manners and customs, and must be protected against insults and public curiosity, and that women must be especially protected against any attack on their honour.

And Haaretz, March 28, Day 174: France's foreign ministry announced it can pursue legal action against Israeli soldiers with French citizenship suspected of war crimes in Gaza, saying France's justice system "has jurisdiction over crimes committed by French nationals abroad."


West Bank: "illegal settlement"

silhouetted
against the Ramadan moon ...
trailer houses
on both side of the pathway
to a new hilltop settlement



FYI: Haaretz, March 6: Israel's Approves Construction of 3,476 Housing Units in West Bank Settlements

2023 was an exception in terms of promoting construction plans in the West Bank. 12,359 housing units were approved or advanced in the planning phase last year. "Peace Now," an Israeli non-governmental organization, estimates that this is the highest number since the signing of the Oslo Accords.


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XL: "Ramadan fasting"

a fasting man's face
covered in shrapnel scars ...
airdropped aid


FYI: Democarcy Now, March 4U.S. Airdrops Food to Gaza While Arming Israel to Drop Bombs
And Democracy Now, March 7: Biden Quietly Approves 100+ Arms Sales to Israel While Claiming Concern for Civilians in Gaza

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Beginning of the End

in dim lamplight
my wife murmurs, "I'm scared
of not knowing you:
you never sleep talk in English
you only dream in Chinese"

these weather swings
from record warmth to cold front
to snowfall ....
the weight of our silence
on the journey to a new life

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Homeless Man's Shadow Tanka

this winter
colder than last
at twilight
a homeless man's shadow
slips into the church

Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023

Monday, March 25, 2024

Bridge of Moonlight Tanka

alone again
by the childhood river
I put my feet
on the bridge of moonlight 
to a dream of no return

Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Shyness Tanka

her body
silhouetted by moonlight
between the blinds ...
she slowly strips off
all my shyness

Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Sound of Surviving

Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XVIII

I deliver
four rapid jabs, then a right
at my rival ...
the blood dripping off
my shadow on the wall

another
defeat by greedflation
and rent hike ...
I yell out, I want to feel
alive in this broken world



FYI: The last two lines allude to the following poem, “Invitation” by Mary Oliver

it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.


AddedRe-Homing in the Maple Land, XIX

brick bungalows
with sea-green roofs and skylights
now gut-renovated ...
three blocks away, migrants move 
in and out of rooming houses


AddedRe-Homing in the Maple Land, XX

this riot
of colorful blooms ...
at the corner
of my neighbor's garden
a sign: backyard suite for rent


(Note: XIX and XX are integrated into the following tanka sequence:

O Canada! Our home and native land!

this riot
of colorful blooms ...
at the corner
of my neighbor's garden
a sign: backyard suite for rent

brick bungalows
with sea-green roofs and skylights
now gut-renovated ...
three blocks away, migrants move 
in and out of rooming houses

clothes flap on the line
and whales breach through blue waves ...
four new temps
in the second-story window 
of a saltbox house

wave upon wave 
of prairie grass cascading
over the hillside
a rented cabin, my new home
in this promised land 


FYI: In Feb., 2022, a new ruling made it officially legal for Toronto residents to build "backyard or garden suites" (a little bigger and more furnished than the outdoor/yard sheds one can buy in The Home Depot) as a "form of housing" (because of the crisis of affordable rental housing)

And usually built between 1800 and 1850 in Newfoundland and Labrador, a saltbox house has two stories in the front but one in the back,  giving it an uneven roof that is steeper one side).


Added: Game Show, 2024, XLI

chants of USA!
listen, repeat after me
ge-ron-to-cra-cy


FYI: Pew Research Center, 118th Congress (with only 10% -- 20% approval ratings) of the Oldest democratic country: The Senate’s median age is 65.3 years and the House's median age is 57.9 years. And in total, 98% of all incumbents were re-elected; most Big Shot Politicians are close to or over 80-year-old.

Friday, March 22, 2024

A Chain Smoker of Few Words

My father, who was born in mainland China, quit his studies to defend his country against the Japanese invasion. Later, he fought his fellow countrymen for the sake of unifying war-torn China. Retreating to Taiwan along with the defeated Chinese Nationalist Army, he was separated from his family in China for four decades. He spent most of his adult life in Taiwan, worked hard to support his new family, died and was buried there without ever again seeing any of his family members from China.

this dream loop:
riding on my shoulders
into the Taiwan Strait
Father cries out, Mama
wait for me, I'm coming home

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Spring Day Mural Haiku

No More Fairy Tales, XXVII

spring day mural:
green paint sprayed across the wall
behind leafless trees



FYI: A definition haiku or tanka, a subgenre of definition poetry, begins or ends with a short phrase or statement, followed or preceded by a description of the phrase or statement in concrete imagery. The visually and emotionally suggestive power of a definition haiku or tanka is NOT rooted in the explanatory relationship between its two parts, but in the "dialectical relationship" between them.

For more examples about "definition haiku," see To the Lighthouse: Definition Haiku and Tanka


Added:

mayor's office:
"Yes, We Can"  hangs in the frame 
above the desk
and reed orchids languish
in a dusty corner

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Late Wife Haiku

end of the season
eyes closed I see my late wife
among rose blossoms



FYI: The 20 winning haiku, presented by The Downtown Tucson Partnership (DTP) together with the University of Arizona Poetry Center,  are now on display in Downtown Tucson. from March 19 - June 1, 2024. Click on the numbered points in the map on the webpage to read each poet's haiku, and my winning haiku is number 19.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Hostages Tanka

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXIV: "hostages" 

the hostages stuck
between Israel's total victory
and Hamas' demands ...
protesters lock themselves
in cages on the highway



FYI: This tanka is a sequel to the following:

This Brave New World, CX

Kidnapped
pasted over Occupier
pasted over Kidnapped
above the photo of a man ...
this battle for perfect victims


And Haazetz, March 12: Why Israel's New Nationalistic Judaism Doesn't Care About the Hostages in Gaza: For Israel's rising jingoistic, messianic religious right, the war in Gaza is about recovering pride and projecting power. Desperate hostages held by Hamas don't fit their narrative

A fundamental ideology is at work here, according to which the war in Gaza is the ultimate national drama, a rare opportunity to recover national pride and a sense of invincibility. In this narrative, the hostages are a source of collective weakness.


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXV: "Promised Land" 
(expanded into a tanka set below)

The War Shrinks Our World

past suffering
spills into the present war
of fireballing rage
which shapes future kamikazes:
Promised Land of blood and honey

Free the Hostages
the yellowing sign hangs limp
on my neighbor's fence ...
from the street corner the chants
of Free, Free Palestine ring out


FYI: One of the best-recognized descriptions of the "land of Israel'/Promised Land is “a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy, 31:20)


Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXVI: "see us, hear us"

Ramadan Message
a magic realist tanka set written in response to NPR, March 16: "Netanyahu approves plan to invade Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering"

blood-stained children
stand barefoot with their backs
to the reporters ...
do you see us, hear us now
to clicking of cameras

children with lanterns
walk into the far distance
their last words
we shall return, and overcome
linger in the smoky darkness


FYI: The fanous lantern has been a symbol of Ramadan for hundreds of years. For Muslims, it represents the light guiding the way.


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXVII: "death toll in dispute"

death toll in dispute
a crow's last caw fades
to winter wind

Saturday, March 16, 2024

From Twitter to X

The blue bird logo is replaced with a white X on a black background, and tweets are now just posts. Today, the new owner makes the following statement:

If there's a big scandal about me, my only request is that it be called Elongate.

I turn my head from the screen to gaze out the window, and take deep breaths in and out..in and out.

passing clouds
the thought of not thinking
of myself

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Writer's Block Tanka

writer's block?
Oh, I don't have time for that ...
this moonless night
becomes darker and heavier
with rent hike and snowfall



Added: written in response to Thomas Mann's remark on writing:
A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. 

three lines
into the first tanka
of this dark night ...
I pause and listen
to the void in my life

Monday, March 11, 2024

Al-Aqsa Haiku

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXX: "Al-Aqsa" 

distant boom, boom, boom ...
the first sliver of the moon 
over Al-Aqsa



FYI: Al-Aqsa is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

This haiku could be read as a prequel to the following:

Ramadan moon
wave upon wave of prayers
in a tent city


And Haaretz, March 11Israeli Police Block Hundreds of Palestinians From Al-Aqsa on Ramadan's First Night, Hit Worshipers With Batons

Restrictions for the first prayers of Ramadan contradicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent promise to allow freedom of worship. The police issued dozens of restraining orders against Palestinian activists and journalists over the past few days, barring them from the compound.


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXI: "Ramadan lantern"

silent screams as prayers
in this death-dark nightmare
a Ramadan lantern


FYI: "The fanous lantern has been a symbol of Ramadan for hundreds of years. For Muslims, it represents the light guiding the way. In Egypt, during the holy month of Ramadan, streets are illuminated at night by colorful fanous lanterns."


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXII: "pre-dawn meal"

humming of drones ...
a family's pre-dawn meal,
finger-sized biscuits 


FYI: "Suhoor, known as the pre-dawn meal in English, is a significant element for Muslims during Ramadan. It is the last meal before the sun rises and the day of fasting begins."

And Haaretz, March 24: UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said that Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza, adding that this was done "to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine."


AddedAgainst the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXXIII: "bulldozers" 

the first sliver
of the Ramadan moon
rows of men
face to face with the teeth
of Israeli bulldozers


Addedreading between the lives and writing between the lines, LXXXII

Royal smiles
photoshopped for Mother's Day ....
this broken world, yet ...


FYI: Sky News, March 11: Kate, Princess of Wales, apologises 'for any confusion' after 'editing' Mother's Day photograph

Graham Smith, of the anti-monarchy group Republic, earlier said: "The manipulation of an image that the palace says was taken by William is extraordinary.

"The monarchy has always sought to manipulate and manage its image, but if they have tried to fake a photograph to silence online conspiracy theories, that is disgraceful."


Added: This Brave New World, CXI
written to the Subjects of "King Charles" whose kingdom has 4.2 M children growing up in poverty, i.e. 9 in a classroom of 30

a child's stare
at plates of English Muffins
in the store's window 
its wall-mounted TV
blasts, where is Kate?



4.3 million children are growing up in poverty in the UK

9 children in an average classroom of 30 (29%) are living in poverty

7 out of 10 children living in poverty have at least one parent in paid work

900,000 children in poverty in England alone miss out on free school meals....

And BBC News, March 21: Absolute poverty: UK sees biggest rise for 30 years

The figure jumped to 12 million in 2022-2023, a rise of 600,000.
This means the rate of absolute poverty in the UK now stands at 18%

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Thoughts of Home Haiku

thoughts of home
the blink of an airplane
between stars

The Cicada's Cry, Autumn 2023