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

Thursday, January 8, 2026

River of Mud and Waste Haiku

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXV: "winter storm"

Gazan sky tinged gray
a river of mud and waste
through patchworked tents

NeverEnding Story, January 8 2026


FYI: Haaretz, Jan. 6, 2026: 'We Saved the Child From Drowning': In Gaza, Winter Storm Makes Displacement Even Deadlier

Wind and rain are tearing apart Gaza's tents, collapsing buildings and flooding streets and shelters. With many winter supplies barred by Israel, black-market merchants are selling tents for up to $1,000. One Palestinian said, 'We don't know where we will sleep the next time it rains' 

And this haiku could be read as a sequel to the following:

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXIII: "freezing rain and wind gusts"

freezing rain and wind gusts  ...
the length
of another Gazan night



Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LXX:

a few blocks
from George Floyd Square
Renee Nicole Good
shot dead by the ICE 
candlelights swell, then a sea...


FYI: The New Yorker, Jan. 8 2026: Minneapolis Grieves, Again

It was Floyd’s murder, by Minneapolis police, that catalyzed an uprising for Black lives—the largest demonstrations in U.S. history. George Floyd Square still marks that moment, with grand sculptures of raised fists and graffitied murals. Now another death, another Minnesotan tragedy, has distilled the stakes of yet another form of state violence.


Added:

in drifting snowflakes
one peace candle flickers
another glows on ...


Added:

the mountain range
looms behind this new town 
half-obscured
by tiers of wooden houses ...
the fire leaps then the wind shifts


Added:

slanted moonlight
on this winding road of dream
to you, my love ...
my feet stiff, my heart restless
until it rests in you