autumn afternoon
we keep our distance
in dappled light
talking about the life
we haven’t shared
Tanka Honorable Mention, 2008 San Francisco International Competition
Sylvia Forges-Ryan
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
秋日午後
在斑駁的陽光下
我們保持距離
談論沒有共同
分享的生活
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
秋日午後
在斑驳的阳光下
我们保持距离
谈论没有共同
分享的生活
Bio Sketch
Sylvia Forges-Ryan is internationally known for her poetry in Japanese forms, including haiku, senryu, tanka and renku, which have been translated into numerous languages. Her awards include a Grand Prix Poetry Prize from the Atomic Bomb Memorial Committee, Kyoto, Japan, The R.H. Blyth Award from the World Haiku Society, the Harold G. Henderson Award, and First Place in both the Ukiah Haiku Festival Contest and in the Robert Frost Haiku Competition. She is co-author of Take a Deep Breath: The Haiku Way to Inner Peace, published in hardcover by Kodansha International, with a Russian translation published by Sophia Press. and a paperback edition from Apocryphile Press. From 1991 through 1993 she was the Editor of Frogpond, the international journal of the Haiku Society of America.
The opening lines successfully set a scenic/emotive context whiles the closing lines enhances the tone and mood.
ReplyDeleteThis heartfelt tanka is tightly structured with a deep emotional undercurrent.