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

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Unarticulated

for Nadia

"We talked a lot, but he seldom listened: then I would get angry."  A faint smell of whiskey on her breath.

She continues to talk openly about her life. The sun's rays come through the cafe window on the side of her face. I notice a tiny bruise below her left eye.

"During the last months of our life together, we whipped each other; We thought we were talking --  but, we whipped each other on our mouths; one word, one crack of the whip after the other."

She pauses for a moment, then says in a matter-of-fact tone, "Now, I like old men, but they sometimes talk a little too much."

in the middle
of an awkward silence ...
robinsong

Cattails, January 2016