Monday, November 12, 2018

One Man's Maple Moon: Wisp of Snow Tanka by Michael Dylan Welch

English Original

a wisp of snow
curls in from the door --
the bookstore cat
settles at last
in the poetry section

Mariposa, 36, Spring/Summer 2017

Michael Dylan Welch


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一縷雪
從門口飄進來 --
書店的貓
終於在詩集部門之處
安定下來了

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一缕雪
从门口飘进来 -
书店的猫
终于在诗集部门之处
安定下来了 


Bio Sketch

Michael Dylan Welch is the founder of the Tanka Society of America (2000), and co-founder of Haiku North America conference (1991) and the American Haiku Archives (1996). In 2010 he also started National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo), which takes place every February, with an active Facebook page. His personal website is www.graceguts.com, which features hundreds of essays, reviews, reports, and other content, including examples of his published poetry.

2 comments:

  1. The upper verse sets the scene and seasonal context while the unexpected yet thematically significant last line shows the comforting power of poetry. And "at last" in L4 adds emotional strength to this heartwarming tanka.

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  2. I'm enjoying reading through the past two months of haiku and tanka, Chen-ou Liu. So many moving and on-point poems! I came back to this one by Michael again, because it has such a nice cozy feeling.

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