to the west
dark wisps rise from hills
sunset glows fire
then we remember
our breathless escape
Gusts, 18, Fall/Winter 2013
Paul Williamson
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
縷縷黑煙
從山丘升起漂向西方
夕陽像似著火
然後我們記得
氣喘喘地逃生
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
缕缕黑烟
从山丘升起漂向西方
夕阳像似著火
然後我们记得
气喘喘地逃生
Bio Sketch
Paul Williamson is an Australian poet who has published poems on eclectic topics in many magazines, including Eucalypt, Gusts, Skylark, Ribbons, Quadrant, FiveBells, and Melaleuca and Magic Cat. His poetry arrived after three research degrees (two in Science and one nominally in Arts but apparently in Sociology). He writes poems to clarify feelings and impressions, and record them.
This tanka is written in the traditional manner of Japanese waka/tanka: a longer preposited structure known as the "jo" (preface), typically a natural image or image cluster (Ls 1-3) followed by the "main statement" (Ls 4-5) of the poem. The jo (prefatory imagery) resonates closely with/responds to the emotional point ("breathless escape") of the poem.
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