Monday, November 25, 2013

One Man's Maple Moon: Self Tanka by Jenny Ward Angyal

English Original

the self
I’ve clung to
all these years
moonlight
on water

Skylark, 1:1, summer 2013

Jenny Ward Angyal


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

這些年來
我所堅持的
自我形象
月光
在水面上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

这些年来
我所坚持的
自我形象
月光
在水面上


Bio Sketch

Jenny Ward Angyal lives with her husband and one Abyssinian cat on a small organic farm in Gibsonville, NC, USA.  She composed her first poem at the age of five. Her tanka and other poems have appeared in various print and online journals and may also be found on her blog, The Grass Minstrel 

1 comment:

  1. The upper verse establishes the thematic motif while the lower verse successfully creates an allusive image antithetical to the theme explored.

    Jenny's well-crafted tanka reminds me of Joyce Wong's Selected Tanka, (Gusts, 15, spring/summer 2012) below:

    moonlight
    upon the water--
    why do we
    give ourselves over to
    beautiful illusions?

    Wong’s effective use of a rhetorical question emotionally enhances the suggestive power of the poem, especially of the upper verse, which alludes to a Chinese idiom: “flowers in the mirror and the moon on the water (Chinese: 鏡花水月; Japanese: Kyōka Suigetsu)” -- Selector's (my) comment

    I'll publish a 'Poetic Musings' post to analyze these two so-called 'similar tanka'.


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