slinking away
from the convention
I walk the pier
another odd bird
among the pelicans
Bright Stars, 4, 2014
Sheila Sondik
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
從會議中
偷偷溜走
我在碼頭溜達
看到在一群鵜鶘中
另一隻不合群的鳥
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
从会议中
偷偷溜走
我在码头溜达
看到在一群鹈鹕中
另一只不合群的鸟
Bio Sketch
Sheila
Sondik is a poet and printmaker in the Pacific Northwest. A long-time
lover of haiku (and practitioner of several other Japanese and Chinese
art forms), she began writing haiku and tanka in 2010. Her work has been
widely published.
The parallel, thematic and symbolic, between the two parts (people attending the convention and the socially-shy speaker vs highly social birds and another odd bird) of the tanka is effective. And the idiomatic phrase, "odd bird," works well on two levels, literal and symbolic, helping establish an implied simile between the speaker and another odd bird/pelican.
ReplyDeleteNote: "In addition to resourcefulness, the pelican spiritual totem commonly symbolizes social responsibility and active attributes, such as social, teamwork, charity, generosity and friendliness. This is because these birds are highly social and reliant upon their groups."
Thank you for that interesting information on the symbolism of the pelican!
ReplyDeleteWonderful!
ReplyDelete