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

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Sultry Smell Tanka

the sultry smell
of grilled salmon and shrimp
our shoulders
close, closer to each other
and our wandering hearts, too



Added:

dappled trail 
a summer breeze humming
our sweet nothings 


Added:

after love
and her going back home
I take a shower
to wash away her trace
and another steamy night


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pity? I murmur ...
these women in red
sail to my shore
even disembark, and yet
never reach my interior