tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2626314159364790412024-03-29T09:03:32.573-04:00Poetry in the MomentBlog Archive of Chen-ou Liu’s Published Poems: If no one reads my poetry, Death will be the Reviewer.Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.comBlogger6475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-84690163654022937982024-03-29T09:02:00.001-04:002024-03-29T09:02:32.415-04:00Home, Sweet Home<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, XLI: "home"</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">boom, boom, boom</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">outside the steel safe room</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with his ears covered</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a boy sings, <i>If I had wings</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>like Noah's dove to fly up...</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">siren piercing the haze ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a Gazan girl holds onto</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the cracked clay pot</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">that keeps memories of smells</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in her mother's kitchen</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-room-of-my-own-home-sweet-home.html">NeverEnding Story, March 29 2024</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: "Safe Room" (Hebrew: "miklat") was required by a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkhav_Mugan">1992 Israeli law</a> to install in all new buildings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the clay pot artisans, Gaza has some of the best soil for making this cooking pottery (<a href="https://twitter.com/BusinessInsider/status/1191581909010309121?lang=en">Business Insider, Nov 5. 2019</a>). And in Gaza City there is an area called Al-Fawakhir, best known for selling clay pottery. Locals buy clay pottery for use in cooking, as home decorations, serving food, storage, or as gifts (<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/palestine-gaza-pottery-industry-inside-pictures">Middle East Eye, Aug. 3 2023</a>)</div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-6260476322126282792024-03-28T13:05:00.006-04:002024-03-29T08:58:48.873-04:00The Anatomy of a Genocide<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The following two entries, XXXVIII: "Israeli strikes" and XXXIX: "illegal settlement," of </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words </i><span style="text-align: justify;">about what has been happing in both Gaza and the West Bank, written in response to UN report, </span><a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/anatomy-of-a-genocide-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territory-occupied-since-1967-to-human-rights-council-advance-unedited-version-a-hrc-55/">The Anatomy of a Genocide</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gaza: "Israeli strikes"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">dating profile photo:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a smiling twentysomething</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">with a M4</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in front of mushroom clouds</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">from Israeli strikes in Gaza</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/neverending-story-call-for-haiku-and.html">NeverEnding Story, March 28 2024</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-24/ty-article-magazine/.premium/were-not-only-here-to-fuck-hamas-how-israeli-militarism-took-over-online-dating/0000018e-60aa-d27e-a7af-7aeec5b00000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=650e949c88">Haaretz, March 24</a>: 'We're Not Only Here to Fuck Hamas': How Israeli Militarism Took Over Online Dating: Why are Israeli soldiers uploading photos of themselves inside Gazan homes or with Palestinian detainees to their dating profiles? Beyond the 'uniform effect' which turned U.S. firefighters into heroes after September 11, some experts say the violent militarism seen on dating apps is leading to disturbing trends in Israeli society – online and off</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The American M4 and the Israel Tavor (in various guises) are the primary weapons of the IDF.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://ca.yahoo.com/news/israeli-soldiers-play-gaza-womens-100550890.html">Reuters, March 28</a>: <b>Israeli soldiers play with Gaza women's underwear in online posts</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In one video, an Israeli soldier sits in an armchair in a room in Gaza grinning, with a gun in one hand and dangling white satin underwear from the other over the open mouth of a comrade lying on a sofa.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The posting of such images is demeaning to Palestinian women, and all women," said Ravina Shamdasani, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention says civilians are entitled to respect for their honour,</b> family rights, manners and customs, and must be protected against insults and public curiosity, and that women must be especially protected against any attack on their honour.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2024-03-28/ty-article/.premium/israel-at-war-day-174-palestinian-pm-mustafa-forms-new-government/0000018e-8609-d49b-a3bf-f61fcbcf0000">Haaretz, March 28</a>, Day 174: <b>France's foreign ministry announced it can pursue legal action against Israeli soldiers with French citizenship suspected of war crimes in Gaza</b>, saying France's justice system "has jurisdiction over crimes committed by French nationals abroad."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">West Bank: "illegal settlement"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">silhouetted</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">against the Ramadan moon </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">trailer houses</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">on both side of the pathway</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to a new hilltop settlement</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/neverending-story-call-for-haiku-and.html">NeverEnding Story, March 28 2024</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-06/ty-article/.premium/israels-approves-construction-of-3-476-housing-units-in-west-bank-settlements/0000018e-144f-d792-a7be-3cffd18d0000">Haaretz, March 6</a>: Israel's Approves Construction of 3,476 Housing Units in West Bank Settlements</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2023 was an exception in terms of promoting construction plans in the West Bank. 12,359 housing units were approved or advanced in the planning phase last year. <b>"Peace Now," an Israeli non-governmental organization, estimates that this is the highest number since the signing of the Oslo Accords.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, </i>XL: "Ramadan fasting"</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a fasting man's face</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">covered in shrapnel scars ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">airdropped aid</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/4/gaza_starvation_akram_al_satarri">Democarcy Now, March 4</a>: <b>U.S. Airdrops Food to Gaza While Arming Israel to Drop Bombs</b></div><div>And<b> </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1QJRNnWmE">Democracy Now, March 7</a>: Biden Quietly Approves <b>100+ Arms Sales to Israel While Claiming Concern for Civilians in Gaza</b></div></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-90840771788308911722024-03-27T11:14:00.002-04:002024-03-27T11:14:35.046-04:00Beginning of the End<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in dim lamplight</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">my wife murmurs, "I'm scared</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of not knowing you:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">you never sleep talk in English</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">you only dream in Chinese"</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">these weather swings</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">from record warmth to cold front</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to snowfall ....</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the weight of our silence</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">on the journey to a new life</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2023/12/10/beginning-of-the-end/">Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, December 10, 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-7000764048504495112024-03-26T09:11:00.005-04:002024-03-26T09:11:29.257-04:00Homeless Man's Shadow Tanka<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">this winter</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">colder than last</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">at twilight</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a homeless man's shadow</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">slips into the church</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023</div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-11020259021601379172024-03-25T10:07:00.004-04:002024-03-25T10:07:23.807-04:00Bridge of Moonlight Tanka<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">alone again</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">by the childhood river</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I put my feet</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">on the bridge of moonlight </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to a dream of no return</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023</div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-55220923408573848942024-03-24T15:41:00.003-04:002024-03-24T15:41:29.618-04:00Shyness Tanka <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">her body</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">silhouetted by moonlight</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">between the blinds ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">she slowly strips off</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">all my shyness</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gusts, 38, Fall/Winter 2023</div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-17082689892679494182024-03-23T08:20:00.011-04:002024-03-25T07:49:11.316-04:00Sound of Surviving<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Re-Homing in the Maple Land</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, XVIII</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I deliver</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">four rapid jabs, then a right</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">at my rival ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the blood dripping off</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">my shadow on the wall</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">another</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">defeat by greedflation</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and rent hike ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I yell out,<i> I want to feel</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">alive in this broken world</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-room-of-my-own-sound-of-surviving.html">NeverEnding Story, March 23 2024</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: The last two lines allude to the following poem, “Invitation” by Mary Oliver</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">it is a serious thing</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">just to be alive</div><div style="text-align: justify;">on this fresh morning</div><div style="text-align: justify;">in the broken world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Re-Homing in the Maple Land</i>, XIX</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">brick bungalows</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">with sea-green roofs and skylights</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">now gut-renovated ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">three blocks away, migrants move </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in and out of rooming houses</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Re-Homing in the Maple Land</i>, XX</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">this riot</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of colorful blooms ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">at the corner</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of my neighbor's garden</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;">a sign: <span style="color: red;">backyard suite for rent</span></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(Note: XIX and XX are integrated into the following tanka sequence:</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">O Canada! Our home and native land!</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">this riot</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of colorful blooms ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">at the corner</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of my neighbor's garden</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a sign: <i>backyard suite for rent</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">brick bungalows</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">with sea-green roofs and skylights</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">now gut-renovated ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">three blocks away, migrants move </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in and out of rooming houses</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">clothes flap on the line</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and whales breach through blue waves ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">four new temps</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in the second-story window </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of a saltbox house</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">wave upon wave </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of prairie grass cascading</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">over the hillside</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a rented cabin, my new home</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in this promised land </span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: In Feb., 2022, a new ruling made it officially legal for Toronto residents to build "backyard or garden suites" (a little bigger and more furnished than the outdoor/yard sheds one can buy in The Home Depot) as a "form of housing" (because of the crisis of affordable rental housing)</div><div><br /></div><div>And usually built between 1800 and 1850 in Newfoundland and Labrador, a saltbox house has two stories in the front but one in the back, giving it an uneven roof that is steeper one side).</div><div><br /></div></span></span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Added:</b> <i>Game Show, 2024</i>, XLI</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">chants of USA!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">listen, repeat after me</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">ge-ron-to-cra-cy</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/30/house-gets-younger-senate-gets-older-a-look-at-the-age-and-generation-of-lawmakers-in-the-118th-congress/">Pew Research Center</a>, 118th Congress (with only 10% -- 20% approval ratings) of the Oldest democratic country: The Senate’s median age is 65.3 years and the House's median age is 57.9 years. And in total, <b>98% of all incumbents were re-elected; most Big Shot Politicians are close to or over 80-year-old.</b></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-90064112485439539382024-03-22T13:53:00.006-04:002024-03-22T13:53:51.133-04:00A Chain Smoker of Few Words<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My father, who was born in mainland China, quit his studies to defend his country against the Japanese invasion. Later, he fought his fellow countrymen for the sake of unifying war-torn China. Retreating to Taiwan along with the defeated Chinese Nationalist Army, he was separated from his family in China for four decades. He spent most of his adult life in Taiwan, worked hard to support his new family, died and was buried there without ever again seeing any of his family members from China.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">this dream loop:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">riding on my shoulders</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">into the Taiwan Strait</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Father cries out, <i>Mama</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>wait for me, I'm coming home</i></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://contemporaryhaibunonline.com/cho19-3-table-of-contents/chen-ou-liu-a-chain-smoker-of-few-words/">Contemporary Haibun Online, 19:3, 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-43682883857376518382024-03-21T10:55:00.008-04:002024-03-28T12:25:46.029-04:00Spring Day Mural Haiku<div style="text-align: justify;"><span><i>No More Fairy Tales</i>, XXVII</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">spring day mural:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">green paint sprayed across the wall</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">behind leafless trees</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/to-lighthouse-definition-haiku-and-tanka.html">NeverEnding Story, March 212024</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: A definition haiku or tanka, a subgenre of definition poetry, begins or ends with a short phrase or statement, followed or preceded by a description of the phrase or statement in concrete imagery. <b>The visually and emotionally suggestive power of a definition haiku or tanka is NOT rooted in the explanatory relationship between its two parts, but in the "dialectical relationship" between them.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more examples about "definition haiku," see To the Lighthouse: <a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/to-lighthouse-definition-haiku-and-tanka.html">Definition Haiku and Tanka</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Added</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">mayor's office:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">"Yes, We Can" hangs in the frame </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">above the desk</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and reed orchids languish</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in a dusty corner</span></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-12123601066455098112024-03-20T11:03:00.004-04:002024-03-20T20:23:31.066-04:00Late Wife Haiku<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">end of the season</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">eyes closed I see my late wife</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">among rose blossoms</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://ctycms.com/az-tucson/docs/2024-haiku-hike-winners-2.pdf">Winning Haiku, 5th Haiku Hike Literary Competition</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: The 20 winning haiku, presented by The Downtown Tucson Partnership (DTP) together with the University of Arizona Poetry Center, are <a href="https://downtowntucson.org/events/haiku-hike">now on display in Downtown Tucson.</a> from March 19 - June 1, 2024. Click on the numbered points in the map on the webpage to read each poet's haiku, and<b> my winning haiku is number 19.</b></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-9375124458414808252024-03-19T14:47:00.000-04:002024-03-19T14:47:47.882-04:00First Love Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">drift of blossoms</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">for a moment grandma recalls</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">her first love</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://samidare.jp/basho/box/15th%20english%20haiku%20contest%20(results)pdf.pdf">Selected Haiku, 15th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-60143523160205239172024-03-18T20:27:00.005-04:002024-03-18T20:27:37.420-04:00Class Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">first snowfall ...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">my black-haired son in a class</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of twenty-five blonds</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://samidare.jp/basho/box/15th%20english%20haiku%20contest%20(results)pdf.pdf">Selected Haiku, 15th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-43439850604944196132024-03-17T11:13:00.012-04:002024-03-20T20:05:47.604-04:00Hostages Tanka<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, XXXIV: "hostages" </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the hostages stuck</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">between Israel's total victory</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and Hamas' demands ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">protesters lock themselves</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in cages on the highway</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-room-of-my-own-hostages-tanka.html">NeverEnding Story, March 17 2024</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: This tanka is a sequel to the following:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>This Brave New World</i>, CX</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;">Kidnapped</span></div><div>pasted over <b>Occupier</b></div><div>pasted over <span style="color: red;">Kidnapped</span></div><div>above the photo of a man ...</div><div>this battle for perfect victims</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2023/11/a-room-of-my-own-world-divided.html">NeverEnding Story, November 18, 2023</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-03-12/ty-article-opinion/.premium/why-israels-new-nationalistic-judaism-doesnt-care-about-the-hostages-in-gaza/0000018e-32d0-d5ad-addf-7ed15b390000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=israel-at-war&utm_content=749aa29352">Haazetz, March 12</a>: Why Israel's New Nationalistic Judaism Doesn't Care About the Hostages in Gaza: <b>For Israel's rising jingoistic, messianic religious right, the war in Gaza is about recovering pride and projecting power. Desperate hostages held by Hamas don't fit their narrative</b></div></span><div><br /></div><div>A fundamental ideology is at work here, according to which the war in Gaza is the ultimate national drama, a rare opportunity to recover national pride and a sense of invincibility. In this narrative, the hostages are a source of collective weakness.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span>, XXXV: "Promised Land" </span></div><div><div><div><span>(expanded into a tanka set below)</span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The War Shrinks Our World</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">past suffering</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">spills into the present war</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of fireballing rage</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">which shapes future kamikazes:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Promised Land of blood and honey</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Free the Hostages</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the yellowing sign hangs limp</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">on my neighbor's fence ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">from the street corner the chants</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of <i>Free, Free Palestine</i> ring out</span></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: One of the best-recognized descriptions of the "land of Israel'/Promised Land is “a land flowing with milk and honey.” (<a href="https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/a-land-flowing-with-milk-honey/">Deuteronomy, 31:20</a>)</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Added:</b> <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXXVI: "see us, hear us"</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Ramadan Message</span></i></div><div>a magic realist tanka set written in response to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/16/1238981437/netanyahu-approves-plan-to-invade-rafah-where-1-4-million-palestinians-are-shelt">NPR, March 16</a>: "<b>Netanyahu approves plan to invade Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering</b>"</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">blood-stained children</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">stand barefoot with their backs</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to the reporters ...</span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">do you see us, hear us now</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to clicking of cameras</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">children with lanterns</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">walk into the far distance</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">their last words</span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">we shall return, and overcome</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">linger in the smoky darkness</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: The fanous lantern has been a symbol of Ramadan for hundreds of years. For Muslims, it represents the light guiding the way.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXXVII: "death toll in dispute"</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">death toll in dispute</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a crow's last caw fades</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to winter wind</span></div></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-16115273862895542432024-03-16T11:00:00.001-04:002024-03-16T17:30:05.608-04:00From Twitter to X<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The blue bird logo is replaced with a white X on a black background, and tweets are now just posts. Today, the new owner makes the following statement:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>If there's a big scandal about me, my only request is that it be called Elongate.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I turn my head from the screen to gaze out the window, and take deep breaths in and out..in and out.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">passing clouds</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the thought of not thinking</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of myself</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://drifting-sands-haibun.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Issue-24.pdf">Drifting Sands, 24, 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-91203243127390931572024-03-15T13:29:00.001-04:002024-03-15T13:29:38.296-04:00Eviction Notice Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">my beagle</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">slows its pace to mine ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">eviction notice</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://underthebasho.com/the-journal/under-the-basho-2023/haiku/chen-ou-liu.html">Under the Basho, Nov. 21 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-78413556353809430492024-03-14T10:15:00.000-04:002024-03-14T10:15:13.235-04:00Love in Pixels Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">oceans apart</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">yet just a click away ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">my love in pixels</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://underthebasho.com/the-journal/under-the-basho-2023/haiku/chen-ou-liu.html">Under the Basho, Nov. 21 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-51515807181448485322024-03-13T08:08:00.006-04:002024-03-14T15:22:41.256-04:00Writer's Block Tanka<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">writer's block?</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, I don't have time for that ...</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">this moonless night</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">becomes darker and heavier</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with rent hike and snowfall</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/hot-news-new-milestone-19-m-pageviews.html">NeverEnding Story, March 13 2024</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Added</b>: written in response to Thomas Mann's remark on writing:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">three lines</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">into the first tanka</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of this dark night ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I pause and listen</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to the void in my life</span></div><div><br /></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-71943434486390187382024-03-12T20:06:00.000-04:002024-03-12T20:06:46.478-04:00Winter Quilts Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">empty nest ...</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the sound of winter quilts</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">folding and unfolding</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2023/11/15/empty-nest/">Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, November 15, 2023</a></div></div></div></div><div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-82507733344429433512024-03-11T09:37:00.021-04:002024-03-25T13:48:11.420-04:00Al-Aqsa Haiku<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXX: "Al-Aqsa" </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">distant boom, boom, boom ...</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the first sliver of the moon </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">over Al-Aqsa</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-room-of-my-own-al-aqsa-haiku.html">NeverEnding Story, March 11 2024 </a></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">FYI: Al-Aqsa is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This haiku could be read as a prequel to the following:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Ramadan moon</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>wave upon wave of prayers</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>in a tent city</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://coldmoonjournal.blogspot.com/2023/11/by-chen-ou-liu.html">Cold Moon Journal, November 10 2023</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-11/ty-article/.highlight/israeli-police-block-hundreds-of-palestinians-from-al-aqsa-on-ramadans-first-night/0000018e-2d17-dc45-a7ef-6ddf8a200000?utm_source=mailchimp">Haaretz, March 11</a>: <b>Israeli Police Block Hundreds of Palestinians From Al-Aqsa on Ramadan's First Night, Hit Worshipers With Batons</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Restrictions for the first prayers of Ramadan contradicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent promise to allow freedom of worship. The police issued dozens of restraining orders against Palestinian activists and journalists over the past few days, barring them from the compound.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXXI: "Ramadan lantern"</div><div><span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">silent screams as prayers</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in this death-dark nightmare</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a Ramadan lantern</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: "The fanous lantern has been a symbol of Ramadan for hundreds of years. For Muslims, it represents the light guiding the way. In Egypt, during the holy month of Ramadan, streets are illuminated at night by colorful fanous lanterns."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXXII: "pre-dawn meal"</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">humming of drones ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a family's pre-dawn meal,</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">finger-sized biscuits </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: "Suhoor, known as the pre-dawn meal in English, is a significant element for Muslims during Ramadan. It is the last meal before the sun rises and the day of fasting begins."</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2024-03-24/ty-article/.premium/what-you-need-to-know-day-170-israel-flexible-on-issues-in-truce-talks-official-says/0000018e-716f-ddf4-a3de-79ff9e630000">Haaretz, March 24</a>: UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said that <b>Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza</b>, adding that this was done "to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine."</div></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><span><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXXIII: "bulldozers" </div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">the first sliver</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of the Ramadan moon</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">rows of men</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>face to face </span>with the teeth</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of Israeli bulldozers</span></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>reading between the lives and writing between the lines</i>, LXXXII</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Royal smiles</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">photoshopped for Mother's Day ....</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">this broken world, yet ...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: <a href="https://ca.yahoo.com/news/kate-princess-wales-apologises-confusion-090200671.html">Sky News, March 11</a>: Kate, Princess of Wales, apologises 'for any confusion' after 'editing' Mother's Day photograph</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Graham Smith, of the anti-monarchy group Republic, earlier said: "The manipulation of an image that the palace says was taken by William is extraordinary.</div><div><br /></div><div>"<b>The monarchy has always sought to manipulate and manage its image, but if they have tried to fake a photograph to silence online conspiracy theories, that is disgraceful</b>."</div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>This Brave New World</i>, CXI</div><div>written to the Subjects of "King Charles" whose kingdom has 4.2 M children growing up in poverty, i.e. 9 in a classroom of 30</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a child's stare</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">at plates of English Muffins</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in the store's window </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">its wall-mounted TV</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">blasts, <i>where is Kate?</i></span></div></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span>FYI: </span><a href="https://cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/poverty-facts-and-figures">Child Poverty and Action Group, UK</a></div><div><br /></div><div>4.3 million children are growing up in poverty in the UK</div><div><br /></div><div>9 children in an average classroom of 30 (29%) are living in poverty</div><div><br /></div><div>7 out of 10 children living in poverty have at least one parent in paid work</div><div><br /></div><div>900,000 children in poverty in England alone miss out on free school meals....</div><div><br /></div><div>And <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68625344#">BBC News, March 21</a>: <b>Absolute poverty: UK sees biggest rise for 30 years</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>The figure jumped to 12 million in 2022-2023, a rise of 600,000.</div><div>This means the rate of absolute poverty in the UK now stands at <b>18%</b></div></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-19034940664671353172024-03-10T13:23:00.002-04:002024-03-10T13:23:09.809-04:00Ramadan Moon Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ramadan moon</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">wave upon wave of prayers</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in a tent city</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://coldmoonjournal.blogspot.com/2023/11/by-chen-ou-liu.html">Cold Moon Journal, November 10 2023</a></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-8823394249746507192024-03-09T09:38:00.003-05:002024-03-09T09:38:30.744-05:00Thoughts of Home Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">thoughts of home</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the blink of an airplane</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">between stars</span></div><div><br /></div><div>The Cicada's Cry, Autumn 2023 </div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-11942439949598905052024-03-08T09:36:00.005-05:002024-03-23T10:24:42.318-04:00Build Back (Much) Worse<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Game Show, 2024</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, XL</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">written on International Women's Day</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">white raven on the roof ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the same old man and his staff</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">patch and stitch</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and slap together pieces</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of past promises</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel kills</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">three mothers every hour!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">drowned out</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">by rolling chants of <i>Four More Years!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">as the storm clouds gather</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/to-lighthouse-list-tanka.html">NeverEnding Story, March 8 2023</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: The white raven is the extremely rare leucistic bird. It's not albino, evidenced by its striking sky-blue eyes, and it's believed to be a symbol of bad luck. The last time it was spotted was <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2023/10/24/rare-white-raven-spotted-in-anchorage/">around Anchorage on Oct. 24 2023</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>And <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/8/headlines/palestinian_women_prisoners_share_accounts_of_inhumane_treatment_sexual_assault">Democracy Now, March 8</a>: <b>Palestinian Women Prisoners Share Accounts of Inhumane Treatment, Sexual Assault</b></div><div><br /></div><div>U.N. experts are calling for a probe into reports of sexual assault, torture and killing of Palestinian women prisoners by Israeli forces. The Palestinian Prisoner Society says an estimated 240 Palestinian women have been detained since October 7. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Added: </b><i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXIX: "period products"</div><div>written for International Women's Day</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a circle of teens</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">making period products </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">out of scraps</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">of their makeshift tents ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza's night sky shades of red</span></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: Dust and small particles, trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure after the aerial bombing, turn the night sky shades of red/orange-red</div><div><br /></div><div><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/2024-03-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/this-womens-day-palestinian-women-in-gaza-are-making-period-products-out-of-tents/0000018e-1980-d7d3-abce-79a9bfa90000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=8a4aa5f509">Haaretz, March 7</a>: This Women's Day, Palestinian Women in Gaza Are Making Period Products Out of Tents</div><div><br /></div><div>The Gazan women cutting off their hair in the face of a water crisis, surviving c-sections without anesthesia and fashioning period products from scraps are showing strength and ingenuity in impossible circumstances</div><div><br /></div><div><b>According to the international non-governmental organization ActionAid, Gaza is now one of the most dangerous places for women, with seven killed every two hours. </b></div></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-63206340643208234402024-03-07T09:34:00.013-05:002024-03-09T20:44:04.772-05:00A Roomful of USA!s Tanka<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Game Show, 2024</i>, XXXVIII:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">written in response to the Super Tuesday results</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a row of flags</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the same old blonde-haired man</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a roomful of <i>USA!</i>s</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">flashing cell phones held high</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">deaths of children far away</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FYI: List poems are an ancient tradition in poetry. There are examples in Homer's The Iliad and in the Bible. Fore more about "list tanka," see my "To the Lighthouse" post, <a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/to-lighthouse-list-tanka.html">List Tanka</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div>And <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/4/gaza_starvation_akram_al_satarri">Democarcy Now, March 4</a>: <b>U.S. Airdrops Food to Gaza While Arming Israel to Drop Bombs</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Palestinian health officials say <b>at least 16 children have died in recent days from starvation and dehydration as Israel’s assault continues. </b>UNICEF warns the number of child deaths will likely “rapidly increase” unless the war ends.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Added</b>: <i>Game Show, 2024</i>, XXXIX:</div><div>written in response to Joe Biden's Absurdist theatrics in the State of the Union address</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the old man raising his fist</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">more than 1000 troops</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">working day and night for two months</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a floating pier done</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the smell of rotting corpses with flies</span></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-18650941436316146672024-03-06T18:43:00.000-05:002024-03-06T18:43:05.847-05:00Quarantine Life Haiku<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">quarantine life</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a dun-coloured leaf</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">curls in on itself</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Loneliness Anthology, 2024</div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-262631415936479041.post-54916357531509273122024-03-05T08:01:00.015-05:002024-03-28T15:03:47.456-04:00Gazan Poet Tanka<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i>, XXV: "poetry"</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>do you still believe</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>that poems are stronger than fireballs</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a Gazan poet asks</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in daymares, I see a narcissus</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">entwined around my mind</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-room-of-my-own-gazan-poet-tanka.html">NeverEnding Story, March 5 2024</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: This is a sequel to the following tanka:</div><div><i style="text-align: justify;"><br /></i></div><div><i style="text-align: justify;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, XVIII: "Rafah"</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">attacks on Rafah ...</div><div style="text-align: justify;">will the sound of bombings </div><div style="text-align: justify;">echo, echoing</div><div style="text-align: justify;">in the ears of the World</div><div style="text-align: justify;">thousands of miles away</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-room-of-my-own-ghastly-shade-of-red.html">NeverEnding Story, February 12 2023</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Added</b>: <i style="text-align: left;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: left;">, XXVI: "aid airdrops"</span></div><div><br /></div><div> <span style="font-size: medium;">aid</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">out of reach air ops</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"> dr </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and a dead child’s stare</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>FYI: <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/4/gaza_starvation_akram_al_satarri">Democarcy Now, March 4</a>: <b>U.S. Airdrops Food to Gaza While Arming Israel to Drop Bombs</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Palestinian health officials say <b>at least 16 children have died in recent days from starvation and dehydration as Israel’s assault continues. </b>UNICEF warns the number of child deaths will likely “rapidly increase” unless the war ends.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>And <a href="https://ca.yahoo.com/news/gaza-aid-airdrop-why-delivering-185839351.html">BBC News, March 5</a>: Gaza aid airdrop: Why delivering food from the air is controversial</div><div><br /></div><div>"<b>Airdrops are expensive, haphazard and usually lead to the wrong people getting the aid</b>," Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a former UN aid chief, told the BBC after returning from a recent three-day visit to Gaza.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Airdrops are seven times more expensive compared to ground-delivered aid due to costs related to aircraft, fuel and personnel</b>, says the WFP.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In addition to that, only relatively small quantities can be delivered with each flight, </b>in comparison to what a convoy of lorries can bring in, and significant ground co-ordination is required within the delivery zone, says the WFP.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/08/gaza-aid-airdrop-kills-civilians-when-parachute-fails-to-open-witness-says">The Guardian, March 8</a>: Five killed and 10 injured in Gaza aid airdrop when parachute fails to open: Package ‘fell down like a rocket’ on roof of house near al-Shati refugee camp where people were waiting, a witness says</div><div><br /></div><div>And <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2024-03-09/ty-article/unrwa-accuses-israel-of-forcing-agency-staff-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links/0000018e-2083-dbcf-abee-39db85560000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=e148bfc7f1">Haaretz, March 9</a>: UNRWA Accuses Israel of Forcing Agency Staff to Falsely Admit Hamas Links</div><div><br /></div><div>A report by the UN agency details allegations of severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.</div><div> </div><div><div><b>Added</b>: <i style="text-align: left;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: left;">, XXVII: "donkey feed"</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">rain clouds darkening ...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Gazan children sift through feed</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">as a donkey does</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div>FYI:<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/7/headlines/ceasefire_talks_falter_as_famine_plagues_gaza_aid_remains_blocked_by_israel"> Democracy Now, March 7</a>: <b>Ceasefire Talks Falter as Famine Plagues Gaza, Aid Remains Blocked by Israel</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The group Refugees International is warning Israel’s persistent blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza has created “apocalyptic” conditions inside the besieged territory. <b>At least 20 Gazans have starved to death; the youngest victim was just one day old.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>a soup kitchen volunteer in Rafah, Mohammed Al-Dalu: “Our hearts are being squeezed when a child comes over and says, 'I want to have rice and chicken.' We are unable to provide rice, let alone chicken, in light of the war that we are experiencing. <b>This is not only a war on civilians. It is a war on food, on starvation. People here in the Gaza Strip cannot find bread to eat.”</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>And </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1QJRNnWmE">Democracy Now, March 7</a>: Biden Quietly Approves 100+ Arms Sales to Israel While Claiming Concern for Civilians in Gaza</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Added</b>: <i style="text-align: left;">Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words</i><span style="text-align: left;">, XXVIII: "bombshell shards"</span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">winter deepens</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">bombshell shards glinting</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">at the crescent moon</span></div></div></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>reprinted on <a href="https://haikuniverse.com/haiku-by-chen-ou-liu-4/">Haikuniverse, March 11 2024</a></span></div></div>Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐http://www.blogger.com/profile/06235248170011255532noreply@blogger.com0