one snail
found in the morning
slowly and gently
I become happy
and kind to everyone
Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, 2, 2010
Kozue Uzawa
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
早上
我發現一隻蝸牛
慢慢地，輕柔地
我變得快樂
並善待每個人
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在早上
我发现一只蜗牛
慢慢地，轻柔地
我变得快乐
并善待每个人
Bio Sketch
Kozue Uzawa is a retired university professor. She works as editor of the English tanka journal GUSTS. She composes tanka both in Japanese and English. She also translates Japanese tanka into English and co-published Ferris Wheel: 101 Modern and Contemporary Tanka (Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2006), and Kaleidoscope: Selected Tanka of Shuji Terayama
(Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 2008). Ferris Wheel received the 2007 Donald
Keene Translation Award for Japanese Literature from Columbia
University.
Enhanced by this thematically significant and visually and emotionally evocative pivotal line, "slowly, gently" a simile is effectively established between the speaker's attitude to life/humanity and the snail's movement. And L5 is uplifting and serves well as today's food for thought.
ReplyDeleteNice haiku... . Keep-up the good work.
ReplyDelete