casting on the river
for an image
to rest me --
minnows sleeping
on the moon
Spring's First Caress, 2014
Brian Zimmer
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在河面上
投射一個能使我休憩
的影像 --
一群米諾魚
睡在一輪明月上
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在河表面
投射一个能使我休憩
的影像 --
一群米诺鱼
睡在一轮明月上
Bio Sketch
Brian Zimmer wrote from the banks of the Mississippi River
in St. Louis, Missouri. His work had appeared in various
international print and online journals. He took inspiration from a variety of
sources, including the ancient Japanese poetic-diary (utanikki) and free-form,
poetic "essay" (zuihitsu).
The contrast (the restless speaker vs sleeping minnows) between the two parts of the tanka is visually and emotionally poignant, and the symbolically rich image of the lower verse,"minnows" sleeping/on "the moon," is thought-provoking, elevating the quest in the upper verse to the level of a probe of existential meaning.
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