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

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Selected Haibun: A Chinese Street Singer

I stroll down Spadina Avenue, passing by a Chinese street singer. Slowly, I move out of earshot. I come across curious tourists, mingle with bargain hunters, and am grabbed by smiling vendors. But the song chases after me, manifesting itself as my lips move in reflex.

store window ...
afraid of this 
reflected face

Chinese Translation

街頭賣唱的中國人

我漫步於斯柏當那街,與一位街頭賣唱的中國人擦身而過。慢慢地,我走出他的歌聲所及範圍。我遇到好奇的觀光客,置身於尋求便宜貨的買客;並且,常遭笑容大開的店主拉扯。但是,他的歌仍追逐我不放─我的雙唇不自主地張合。

店面櫥窗…
害怕反映其上
的面孔

Haiku Pix Review, 1, Winter 2011

Note:  In celebration of the upcoming 7th anniversary of being a published writer of Japanese short form poetry, I am pleased to announce a new publishing project, Selected Haibun by Chen-ou Liu.