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

Monday, September 10, 2018

Selected Tanka Prose: I write, therefore I am

I try out
the word writer
in my Chinese mouth
several times ...
this bittersweet taste

I write poetry in the music of a language not natural to me. I am frustrated by my slow progress, but sometimes feel good about this hard fact: writing is the only thing I can do with my immigrant life here and manipulate it in the way I desire. When I stay drunk on writing, reality cannot destroy me.

at the gun-mouth
of time’s barrel
I write --
I live for myself
by myself

Whispers,  October 11, 2014