Monday, May 18, 2020

One Man's Maple Moon: Blue Bowl Tanka by Carole MacRury

English Original

sunlight
fills the emptiness
of a blue bowl --
this life of loving,
losing, letting go

The Right Touch of Sun, 2017

Carole MacRury


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一片陽光
填滿一個藍色
的空碗 --
此生的愛,
失落,放手不癡迷

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一片阳光
填满一个蓝色
的空碗 --
此生的爱,
失落,放手不痴迷


Bio Sketch

Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work.  She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).  

2 comments:

  1. The upper verse depicts a visually and emotionally evocative, koan-like scene (the bowl without food vs the bowl full of sunlight) while the lower verse is replete with the words of wisdom on life, sparking the reader's emotions and reflection on the koan of life.

    Empty your [bowl] so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.

    -- paraphrasing Bruce Lee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Chen-ou, for seeing the beautiful emptiness in my blue bowl tanka.

    ReplyDelete