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

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Fried Dough Haiku

a pool of sunlight
at the foot of my bed . . .
the smell of fried dough

brass bell, 2, May 2014

There Is No There There, A Tanka Prose

In the dream, I finally return to my hometown, and cry out to the streets, "Where are you, my friends? " In winter moonlight, a faint echo answers, "Where are you?"

Home, Sweet Home
on the clock radio
the brilliance
of frost flowers
blooming on my window

NeverEnding Story, April 28, 2014

Monday, May 19, 2014

Blank Pages Tanka

I am at once
tethered to the Muse
and unmoored from her...
a sea of blank pages
floating free

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Peppermint Tanka

head down
she murmurs to herself
I have to wrap
a thousand pieces a day ...

the scent of peppermint

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Dream Tanka

in the dream
a butterfly flits around ...
waking to the moon
I think about my face
before my parents were born

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Words of Spring Tanka

caught in her gaze...
I plant in my mind
the hope
it will flourish
beneath these words of spring

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

A Tanka about Indian Love Song

jointly reciting
Naidu's Indian Love Song
in hazy moonlight
the red dot on her head
half the size of my ring?

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Friday, May 16, 2014

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Class Reunion Tanka

by the moonlight
30th class reunion
the daughter
of my ex-girlfriend
recounts the best day of her life

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Night Tanka

his dying words
Find someone to be with you...
my shadow
leans toward my dog’s
on this breezy night

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Lips Tanka

the whispering
of maple leaves
I hear
another soft gasp
escape her parted lips

The Bamboo Hut, 3, 2014

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Monday, May 12, 2014

Heartbeat Haiku

sonogram heartbeat …
frost flowers
blooming on the window

Wednesday Haiku, 157, April 23, 2014

The Promised Land

What will you do if they uproot your trees?
What will I do? Only plant them again.
What will you do if they bulldoze your houses?
What will I do? Only build them again.

Facing the stone-wall silence of riot police, a large gathering of men, women and children sings louder and louder, but none concedes his or her position.

hazy half moon
the separation wall
where olive groves stood


German Translation

Das verheißene Land

Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Bäume herausreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal pflanzen.
Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Häuser niederreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal bauen.

Auf die steinwandige Stille der aufrührerischen Polizei trifft eine große Ansammlung von Männern, Frauen und Kindern, die lauter und lauter singt, aber keiner gibt in seiner Position nach.

verschleierter Halbmond
die Trennmauer
wo einst Olivenhaine standen

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Power Outage Haiku

power outage
the smell of that night
we made love


German Translation

Stromausfall
der Geruch jener Nacht,
in der wir uns liebten

Chrysanthemum, 15, April 2014

Berlin Wall Haiku

twenty-five years after ...
he murmurs, the same full moon
over the Berlin wall


German Translation

fünfundzwanzig Jahre danach ...
der gleiche Vollmond, murmelt er,
über der Berliner Mauer

Chrysanthemum, 15, April 2014

Saturday, May 10, 2014

And Who is My Neighbor? A Tnaka Set

in sunlight
reading Robert Frost ...
a high fence
going up between me
and my white neighbor

white flight, white fright ...
my Chinese roommate
practices "l" and "r"
before the window
as the moonlight slips in

NeverEnding Story, April 14, 2014

Friday, May 9, 2014

Sunrise Tanka

New Year’s sunrise  . . .
I see in the mirror
the face
I was afraid of
as a teenager

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Thursday, May 8, 2014

American Dream Tanka

summer moonlight
on bootleg copies
of The Wire  . . .
on a hawker’s T-shirt
I’m the American Dream

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Vulture Tanka

like a vulture
hacking into the carcass
of my ex’s stories
I spit out the bones
in tanka form

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Flower Heart Tanka

I looked at her
and her eyes found mine
time stood still . . .
gazing upon the bright moon
I think of her flower heart

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Hometown Memories Tanka

hometown
memories have come and gone . . .
I’m immersed
in the eternal sunshine
of my stainless Dell

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Monday, May 5, 2014

Breast Surgery Tanka

after breast surgery
we struggle for words
to fill the silence
she says they’ll never sag
as I see cut roses in a vase

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Language of Sex Tanka

she winks at me,
is love about the body-smell
relationship?
I start to unlearn
the language of sex

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Desperate Housewives Tanka

she is glued
to Desperate Housewives
while the cat dozes
a winter star
in her basement window

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Saturday, May 3, 2014

War on Drugs Tanka

in summer heat
the War on Drugs banner
fluttering  . . .
Ride of the Valkyries
blares from police speakers

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Friday, May 2, 2014

Arched Bridge Tanka

raging water
under the arched bridge
will I soon
be finished
with tomorrows ?

Bright Stars, II, April 2014

Chairs Tanka

one chair empty,
the other creaking
back and forth  . . .
my grandfather
in winter twilight

Bright Stars, II, April 2014