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

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Fallen Stars Tanka

Eightieth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

fallen stars ...
a tired nurse murmuring
this large number
of faceless, nameless
Covid19 deaths

PoemHunter, June 14 2020


Note:The eightieth entry is a sequel to the fifty-eighth entry:

Talk the Talk

To Justin Trudeau who addressed the House of Commons on saving the elderly from coronavirus on April 11, saying, They fought for us all those years ago. And today we fight for them. We will show ourselves to be worthy of this magnificent country they built.

at the briefing
the photogenic PM's mouth
opens and closes ...
a nursing home silhouetted
against the sunset sky

forty more deaths
slides across the bottom
of the screen ...
a nurse's voice falters,
this elder genocide

NeverEnding Story, May 15 2020

FYI: The Globe and Mail April 13 report, "Outbreaks at seniors’ homes linked to almost half of COVID-19 deaths in Canada, Theresa tam says." Toronto Star May 7 report, "82% of Canada’s COVID-19 deaths have been in long-term care, new data reveals." And for more information, see Russell Richer's National Observer May 15 opinion piece, COVID-19: Chronology of the Long-Term Care Tragedy.