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

Sunday, June 16, 2024

The Last Years of My Father's Life

in memory of my father who was born in mainland China, lived most of his adult life in Taiwan, died and was buried there in 2022

alone again
in the gathering dark
my father tries
to use his hammer of anger
to break walls of dementia

quiet and quieter
and unable to walk
on his own --
my father's years-long
marathon with dementia

in fading light
on Taiwan's north coast
I finger-write
my father's name in the sand
and watch it wash away



Added:

snowflakes drift
from silence to silence
weight of Father's urn


Added:Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LXIX: "ruins"
written on Father's Day

an old man's stare
late night lightning connects
heaven and Gaza's ruins