Tuesday, February 19, 2019

One Man's Maple Moon: Empty House Tanka by Aya Yuhki

English Original

in the corridor
of my heart
voices began to chatter
like the sound of a dripping tap
in an empty house

Ardea, 4, 2014

Aya Yuhki


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在我內心
的走廊
有聲音開始喋喋不休
就像在一個空屋裡
水龍頭不斷滴水的聲音

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在我内心
的走廊
有声音开始喋喋不休
就像在一个空屋里
水龙头不断滴水的声音 


Bio Sketch

Aya Yuhki was born and now lives in Tokyo. She started writing tanka more than thirty years ago and has expanded her interests to include free verse poetry, essay writing, and literary criticism. Aya Yuhki is Editor-in-Chief of The Tanka Journal published by the Japan Poets’ Society. Her works are featured on the homepage of the Japan Pen Club’s Electronic Library.

1 comment:

  1. In this heart-wrenching tanka where three literary devices (spatial metaphor of the corridor, personification and a simile) are effectively employed, the hollow, lonely sound of a dripping tap successfully echoes in the corridor of the speaker's heart

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