A new pond
placid for sunset
a fish leaps out --
the same splash
as Basho's frog ?
Robert Annis
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
平靜的日落
一條魚飛躍出
新的池塘 --
同樣的水濺聲
如同芭蕉的青蛙所做的？
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
平静的日落
一条鱼飞跃出
新的池塘 --
同样的水溅声
如同芭蕉的青蛙所做的？
Bio Sketch
Robert Annis is a Florida born Tampa resident who teaches at the University of South Florida. He has been nominated for the 2013 and 2014 AWP Intro Journals Project and won the Bettye Newman Poetry Award in 2014. His poetry has appeared in Lingerpost, Lynx, Gusts, Ribbons and is forthcoming in the summer issue of Atlas Poetica and Bright Stars, An Organic Tanka Anthology.
The question raised in the lower verse opens up an interpretative space for the reader: Is the splash made by Basho's frog just to break the silence?
ReplyDeleteThe old pond;
A frog jumps in —
The sound of the water.
The well-explored contrasts between the upper verse in Robert's tanka and Basho's frog haiku spark the reader's imagination.
For more info. about Basho's frog haiku, see "Poetic Musings: Generic Analysis of Basho’s Frog Haiku," which can be accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/2013/01/poetic-musings-generic-analysis-of.html