Friday, January 29, 2016

One Man's Maple Moon: Winter Solstice Tanka by Sergio A. Ortiz

English Original

winter solstice ...
there's nothing here
but speech,
words with which I fill
my lonely darkness

Sergio A. Ortiz


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

冬至 ...
除了話語之外
這裡什麼都沒有,
我用這些言詞來填補
孤寂的黑暗

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

冬至 ...
除了话语之外
这里什麽都没有,
我用这些言词来填补
孤寂的黑暗


Bio Sketch

Sergio A. Ortiz is the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review. He lives in San Juan Puerto Rico.  He is a four-time nominee for the 2010-2011 Sundress Best of the Web Anthology, and a two-time 2010 Pushcart nominee.

1 comment:

  1. Sergio's emotive tanka is not only structurally but also thematically framed by the opening and closing lines -- "winter solstice" (astronomical phenomenon marking the longest night of the year) and my "lonely darkness" (the speaker's/personal “dark night of the soul"). And the monologue (Ls 2-4) between these two lines (Ls 1,5)adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the poem.

    ReplyDelete