English Original
I am a speck
on this rock in this ocean
lost in endless space
but for this puppy I hold
I am a warm, breathing world
Gusts, 7, Spring/Summer 2008
Denis M. Garrison
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在這片海洋的岩石上
我是一個斑點
迷失在無盡的空間
但是對於我抱著的這隻小狗
我是一個溫暖, 散發氣息的世界
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在这片海洋的岩石上
我是一个斑点
迷失在无尽的空间
但是对于我抱着的这只小狗
我是一个温暖, 散发气息的世界
Bio Sketch
Denis M. Garrison, from Iowa, now lives in Maryland. His childhood was spent in Japan, youth in Europe, Africa and western Pacific. His poetry’s widely published. Garrison’s print collections include First Winter Rain, Eight Shades of Blue, Hidden River, Sailor in the Rain and Other Poems, and Fire Blossoms.
The shift, thematic, visual and emotional, in the lower part of the tanka reminds the reader of the following remark:
ReplyDeleteNo man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...
--- John Donne
In this heartfelt tanka, the speaker, "a speck/on this rock in this ocean," and his/her puppy build a "warm, breathing world' for each other.
It might be interesting to do a thematic comparative reading of my dog tanka below:
back home
from the late night shift
this silence
and yet ... beside the bed
my German Shepherd
NeverEnding Story, August 2, 2019