Tuesday, December 13, 2016

One Man's Maple Moon: Single Thread Tanka by Tim Gardiner

English Original

the caterpillar
hangs by a single thread
hostage to the wind --
I'll face the loneliness
of another winter

Hedgerow, 8, 2014

Tim Gardiner


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一隻毛蟲
弔在一條絲線上
是風的人質 --
我將面對另一個
冬天的孤獨

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一只毛蟲
弔在一条丝线上
是风的人质 --
我将面对另一个
冬天的孤独


Bio Sketch

Dr Tim Gardiner is an ecologist and poet from Manningtree in Essex, UK. His haiku and tanka have been published in literary magazines including Blithe Spirit, Frogpond, and Presence. His first collection of poetry, Wilderness, was published by Brambleby Books in 2015. He has published many scientific papers on natural history and several books, including one about glow-worms.

1 comment:

  1. The emotionally resonant juxtaposition of the caterpillar hanging by a single thread in the wind and the speaker's facing loneliness in the winter lifts the poem out of the ordinary, and the use of "another" successfully adds emotional weight to the poem.

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