English Original
sudden stroke
her life taking a turn
still hanging
on the bathroom peg
her pastel nightgown
Winter Deepens, 2018
Margaret Chula
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
突然中風
她的生活發生了轉變
仍然懸掛
在浴室的掛鉤上
是她的柔軟睡衣
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
突然中风
她的生活发生了转变
仍然悬挂
在浴室的挂钩上
是她的柔软睡衣
Bio Sketch
Margaret Chula has published two collections of tanka: Always Filling, Always Full and Just This. She has promoted tanka through her one-woman dramatization, “Three Women Who Loved Love”, which traveled to Krakow, New York, Boston, Portland, Ottawa, and Ogaki, Japan. Maggie currently serves as president of the Tanka Society of America.
Ls 1&2 set the theme and mood while unexpected yet visually evocative and symbolically rich L5, "pastel nightgown," (worn by a relatively young woman), not only adds emotional weight to the tanka, but also sparks the reader's relfection on the contrasts between the life after her stroke and the life before her stroke.
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