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

Monday, January 15, 2024

Refugee Shelter Tanka

Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XVII

the entrance
of a closed refugee shelter
darkening ...
an African man and a stray
share a box of French fries



FYI: CityNews, Dec. 22, 2023: Coalition of community leaders demand action, funding for [mainly African] refugees and asylum seekers, in Toronto

A coalition of community leaders is urging the federal government to take immediate action to address what they describe as a crisis on Toronto streets. Funding is desperately needed to shelter the growing number of refugees and frontline workers say the federal government has left them stranded in the bitter cold.

Thousands of African refugees have taken shelter in the basements of churches and inside a strip mall since the summer as religious organizations voluntarily took them in without government support. Many of those organizations are now tens of thousands of dollars in debt.


AddedGame Show 2024, XXXII

beach diner's TV
blasting Donald Trump's win ...
a rogue wave slams ashore

FYI: FYI: Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unpredictable, and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to ships and isolated structures such as lighthouses." 


AddedGame Show 2024, XXXIII
written in response to CBS News, Jan. 16Trump wins 98 of 99 Iowa counties, CBS News projects

pundits claim
Trump can be President from jail
if he has to ...
in my trance the royal palm
crowned with winter crows


FYI: "The royal palm is a large majestic palm that is native to south Florida . And crows are highly social during winter, gathering in large flocks that sometimes number thousands."


Added:

I do, I do
over a video call ...
the bright world
in the eyes of the masked bride
holding a paper bouquet


FYI: ABC News, Jan. 10Why are 1,500 Americans still dying from COVID every week?

Experts said there are several reasons why people might still be dying from the virus, including not enough people accessing treatments or getting vaccinated as well as waning immunity.

As of Jan. 5, just 19.4% of adults aged 18 and older and 8% of children have received the updated COVID vaccine, CDC data shows.

And CNN, Jan. 14: Health experts sound alarm over JN.1 Covid variant

Michael Holmes speaks with cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, Eric Topol about the high levels of coronavirus across the U.S.