English Original
she lived
in later years
like a cat
tiny meals, then naps
on a sofa in the sun
Gusts, 18, Fall/Winter 2013
Kirsty Karkow
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
她在晚年
過著像貓一樣
的生活
少量餐點後, 在陽光下的沙發上
打盹小睡
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
她在晚年
过着像猫一样
的生活
少量餐点后, 在阳光下的沙发上
打盹小睡
Bio Sketch
Kirsty Karkow lived in Waldoboro, Maine, where she wrote haiku, sijo, tanka, and other short forms. Lyrical, poignant, and spare, her poetry reflected a rich and deep sense of place and spirit. Her haiku have won the Mainichi and the R.H Blyth Award and placed in other contests. And she had two best-selling books in print: water poems: haiku, tanka and sijo and shorelines: haiku, haibun and tanka , published by Black Cat Press.
Kirsty's tanka builds, poetic phrase (ku)/line by poetic phrase (ku), to a visually and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of "aging alone." And the "cute cat" simile effectively/ironically adds emotional weight to this understated "character/persona tanka."
ReplyDeleteFor more, see "To the Lighthouse: Character/Persona Tanka," accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-lighthouse-characterpersona-tanka.html
and "To the Lighthouse: A Rhetorical Device, Understatement," accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2022/10/to-lighthouse-rhetorical-device.html