English Original
coming to a hill
I unfurl my white arms
to become a sail
the vigorous wind is
the song of a sea robber
White Letter Poems, 1998
Fumi Saito
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
來到一座小山
我伸展潔白的雙臂
成為一張船帆
強勁的風
是海賊之歌
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
来到一座小山
我伸展洁白的双臂
成为一张船帆
强劲的风
是海贼之歌
Bio Sketch
Daughter of a military officer who was noted for his verse-writing talent, Fumi Saito began writing poetry in the traditional 31-syllable tanka form in her early teens. Her first book of tanka, Fish Songs, published in 1940, immediately established her as a brilliant young poet. She was inducted into the Japan Art Academy in 1993 and invited to serve as meshiudo (a position similar to the Poet Laureate's) at the Imperial Palace in 1997.
Fumi's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet multi-sensorily effective and emotionally powerful ending that reveals the theme of the challenge/risk (Ls 4&5) of an imaginative life (Ls 1-3).
ReplyDeleteThis sail tanka reminds me of the following one:
I stretch
my arms to the sea
as if I unfurl
white sails --
the sea sings a requiem
Ribbons, 18:1, Winter 2022
Aya Yuhki