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

Showing posts with label colonialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colonialism. Show all posts

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Selected Haibun: The Promised Land

What will you do if they uproot your trees?
What will I do? Only plant them again.
What will you do if they bulldoze your houses?
What will I do? Only build them again.

Facing the stone-wall silence of riot police, a large gathering of men, women and children sings louder and louder, but none concedes his or her position.

the separation wall
where olive groves stood
hazy half moon


German Translation

Das verheißene Land

Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Bäume herausreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal pflanzen.
Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Häuser niederreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal bauen.

Auf die steinwandige Stille der aufrührerischen Polizei trifft eine große Ansammlung von Männern, Frauen und Kindern, die lauter und lauter singt, aber keiner gibt in seiner Position nach.

die Trennmauer
wo einst Olivenhaine standen
verschleierter Halbmond

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

A Tanka about the Door of No Return

night after night
shackled slaves screamed
in distress
Barack Obama stands
at the Door of No Return


Skylark, 2:1, Summer 2014

Note: The former slave house with its "Door of No Return" was the last location for slaves being shipped to North America.

Monday, May 12, 2014

The Promised Land

What will you do if they uproot your trees?
What will I do? Only plant them again.
What will you do if they bulldoze your houses?
What will I do? Only build them again.

Facing the stone-wall silence of riot police, a large gathering of men, women and children sings louder and louder, but none concedes his or her position.

hazy half moon
the separation wall
where olive groves stood


German Translation

Das verheißene Land

Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Bäume herausreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal pflanzen.
Was wirst du tun, wenn sie deine Häuser niederreißen?
Was wirst du tun? Sie halt noch einmal bauen.

Auf die steinwandige Stille der aufrührerischen Polizei trifft eine große Ansammlung von Männern, Frauen und Kindern, die lauter und lauter singt, aber keiner gibt in seiner Position nach.

verschleierter Halbmond
die Trennmauer
wo einst Olivenhaine standen

Monday, February 17, 2014

Eagle Feather Tanka

for Idle No More activists

the woman
with an eagle feather
sitting alone
before the armed police ...
sparrows in flight

Bright Stars, I: An Organic Tanka Anthology, 2014

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Politics/Poetics of Re-Homing, XIX

the 19th tanka in the sequence about diasporic experiences


a Mohawk youth
and an old Canadian
shout at each other...
we're here because we're here
if you must have a reason


Atlas Poetica, 15, 2013