from the lips
that sing
no lullaby
blows a spring wind
of sorrow
a long rainy season: haiku & tanka
Motoko Michiura
trans. by Leza Lowitz
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
那從未唱過
搖籃曲
的嘴唇
吹著一陣悲哀
的春風
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
那从未唱过
摇篮曲
的嘴唇
吹著一阵悲哀
的春风
Bio Sketch
Motoko Michiura was born in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, in 1947. She has published four books of poetry, and is well known for her poetry concerning her experiences as a student activist at Waseda University in the 1960s and 1970s. She received the 25th Modern tanka Society Prize for the 1980 publication of Helpless Lyricism.
Ls 1-3 indicate that a motherly role is never be performed due to being childless while Ls 4&5 convey the sorrow through the emotionally effective use of hyperbole (a "long sigh" of a woman at her childbearing age portrayed as a "spring" "wind of sorrow").
ReplyDeleteMotoko use of synecdoche adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the poem.