FemkuMag ~ haibun feature

I'm honoured and thrilled to be selected for this month's feature and commentary by the Guest Editor, Elizabeth Alford.


FEMKUMAG FEATURE:

Growing Concerns

Coming to a halt along the river which divides this quaint old town. On both
banks of the river is a bustling but not congested bazaar connected by
concrete bridges. This is the only gazetted morning-till-night market for the
townsfolk which fringes and is perpendicular to the shop houses. At town's
end, close to the estuary across a quiet tombolo a view of low lying plains and
its eighteenth to nineteenth century architecture, I often ponder over the same
thought which crossed my mind for many years.

winter storms
the world powers ignore
water-level rise
my neighbours retreating
to higher grounds

~ Christina Chin


FEMKUMAG FEATURE: GUEST EDITOR’S COMMENTARY

From the moment I began reading this stunning tanka prose, the words on
the pages flew from my lips almost without my realizing it. There is an
authentic verbal cadence in the brief tour of this small coastal town, with its
flowing estuary, concrete bridges, and tombolo (a sandbar which connects an
island to the mainland or another island). The bazaar, the only “gazetted” (i.e.
advertised via the local newspaper) regular event, adds a paradoxical bustling
of activity.. There is a sense of tension between the moving and unmoving
people and landmarks, an urgency compounded by the closing tanka.
Abandoned by those in positions of power who could help the most, the
speaker’s neighbors “retreat to higher ground.” I couldn’t help noticing that it
is the speaker’s neighbors, not the speaker, who retreat. Yet the speaker
obviously lives here, or used to live here; obviously recognizes the danger, but
does not take action. Meanwhile, the townspeople’s geographical and political
isolation has left them exposed, vulnerable, and scrambling.
There is indeed a “growing concern” for high ground in these turbulent times,
moral or otherwise. Ultimately, it is hesitation and carelessness towards others
that does us in.

~ Elizabeth Alford


Thank you so very much for for the feature, Elizabeth.
Do check out this December's Issue of FemkuMag.
https://69b046c2-a7e1-4a9a-9a22-1c70986eaa24.filesusr.com/ugd/f4c0ea_7923b76706ca4e1a9e3db52c80dbdb36.pdf


Issue #19
https://femkumag.wixsite.com/home/issues