Wednesday, June 5, 2019

One Man's Maple Moon: Ordinary Day Tanka by Sylvia Forges-Ryan

English Original

an ordinary day
with ordinary thoughts
until I find someone
with my exact name
in the obituaries               

Atlas Poetica, 2016

Sylvia Forges-Ryan


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

平凡的一天
有著平凡的想法
直到在訃告中
我發現某人和我
有相同的名字

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

平凡的一天
有着平凡的想法
直到在讣告中
我发现某人和我
有相同的名字 


Bio Sketch

Sylvia Forges-Ryan, a former Frogpond editor, is the author of Take a Deep Breath, The Haiku Way to Inner Peace. Her latest book, What Light There Is, consists of haiku, senryu, and tanka, with art work by Ion Codrescu. Both books have been selected for permanent inclusion in the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

1 comment:

  1. Sylvia's sentence tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet poignant ending that encourages readers to ponder about the meaning and significance of Ls 1&2 (in relation to this existential issue of life and death).

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