after the journey
there’s always the laundry --
the rattle
of a foreign coin
in the tumble dryer
Ribbons, 5.3, Fall 2009, Tanka Café
Bob Lucky
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
旅遊結束後
總有一堆衣物待洗 --
一個外國硬幣
在滾筒式乾衣機裡面
發出嘎嘎聲
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
旅游结束后
总有一堆衣物待洗
一个外国硬币
在滚筒式干衣机里面
发出嘎嘎声
Bio sketch
Bob Lucky teaches at the International Community School of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His work has appeared in numerous journals, including Rattle, The Prose-Poem Project, Emerald Bolts, Modern Haiku, Presence, Ribbons, Eucalypt, and Atlas Poetica. He is co-author of the chapbook my favorite thing.
What is it that draws me to this poem with an understated tone?
ReplyDeleteAt the denotative level, Bob's tanka simply answers the following question:
What's left at the end of a journey?
At the connotative level, the closing image opens up an interpretative space where the reader can enter with his/her own travel experience