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

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Untold Story

the night
shimmers on fresh snow ...
a frown
wrinkles my forehead
in the bedroom window

The German Shepherd claims, "The old map of Taiwan on the wall shows where his heart lies." 

"But not his mind. He reads and writes English daily," comes a rebuttal from the dog-eared Chinese-English dictionary on the coffee-stained desk. 

With scarcely a moment's pause for reflection, the jar of salted bamboo shoots joins the discussion. "I think everything in his life is going okay ... except for the food. He can't stand Canadian food!"

the stillness 
of another morning 
new layer
upon layer of snow
buries my immigrant past

Ribbons, 17:2, 2021