Tuesday, December 23, 2014

One Man's Maple Moon: Jazz and Rain Tanka by Joyce Wong

English Original

jazz and rain,
few words to say
in the space
of missing you,
only this blue wound

Moonbathing, 7,  Fall/Winter, 2013

Joyce Wong


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

爵士和雨水,
在想念你之際
有幾句話要說,
只有這個
憂鬱的傷口

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

爵士和雨水,
在想念你之际
有几句话要说,
只有这个
忧鬱的伤口


Bio Sketch

Joyce Wong is a quiet artistic soul who loves reading, writing, music, and poetry. She began writing tanka in 2010, inspired by Machi Tawara’s Salad Anniversary. Her tanka have been published in GUSTS, Moonbathing, and Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume 4. One of her tanka was honored with a Certificate of Merit from the Japan Tanka Poets' Society in the 7th International Tanka Festival Competition, 2012. She lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

1 comment:

  1. Emotionally and structurally speaking, this tanka is well framed by the symbolically rich opening and closing lines: "jazz" and rain (a symbol for tears and sorrow) and only this "'blue' wound"

    Blue has evolved as symbol of depression in North American culture. “Singing the blues” and feeling blue” are two good examples. The concluding words, "blue wound" resonate well with the opening word, Jazz.

    The depressed mood is well conveyed through Joyce's well chosen phrases.


    ReplyDelete