Le présent et le passé donnent la profondeur à cette poésie. La transition est donnée par "feeling as if"; La structure est parfaitement haïku. Il est rare de voir une telle poésie sur ce site qui donne souvent des haïku qui ne savent pas traiter cette transition, cette rupture.
What a powerful poem! "Unexpectedly"indeed. The poet catches us off guard – the same way the moment apparently has caught her. An everyday action as simple as taking off an item of clothing has triggered a series of memories and emotions. Even without reading Nu Quang's background of living under communism in Vietnam, one senses something traumatic. The 3 final lines have a broken rhythm which is clearly deliberate. They have a beat that seems like an insistent, threatening knock on the door. And they read like stifled sobs. Haunting poetry! Thank you Nu for sharing it with us.
April 15th, 2013 at 8:42 am
evocative
warm memory
conjures visits to
calm reminiscences
April 21st, 2013 at 8:24 pm
Rick, thank you. Great to meet you here.
Nu
April 15th, 2013 at 9:34 am
Le présent et le passé donnent la profondeur à cette poésie. La transition est donnée par "feeling as if"; La structure est parfaitement haïku. Il est rare de voir une telle poésie sur ce site qui donne souvent des haïku qui ne savent pas traiter cette transition, cette rupture.
April 21st, 2013 at 8:22 pm
imra guen, thank you for your comments. I can figure out what you said. It is very kind of you.
Nu
April 15th, 2013 at 11:04 am
previously burned
by the heat of the moment
now seeking
much higher latitudes
and temperate gray days
thank you, Nu, your evocative poem is well done — and elicits poetry in return :-)
April 21st, 2013 at 8:19 pm
Dianne, thanks for sharing your poem.
Nu
April 15th, 2013 at 4:15 pm
What a powerful poem! "Unexpectedly"indeed. The poet catches us off guard – the same way the moment apparently has caught her. An everyday action as simple as taking off an item of clothing has triggered a series of memories and emotions. Even without reading Nu Quang's background of living under communism in Vietnam, one senses something traumatic. The 3 final lines have a broken rhythm which is clearly deliberate. They have a beat that seems like an insistent, threatening knock on the door. And they read like stifled sobs. Haunting poetry! Thank you Nu for sharing it with us.
Strider
April 21st, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Strider, thank you very much for your comments. I truly appreciate them.
Nu
April 16th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
The unexpected warmth of the sun in your current location transports you back to your homeland – and we travel with you!. Lovely, Nu.
Great to see you here!
marion
April 21st, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Marion, I am glad you enjoyed my tanka.
Great to see you here, too!
Nu