Saturday, January 13, 2024

One Man’s Maple Moon: Silent Apartment Tanka by Laryalee Fraser

English Original

cold rain
drips on the windowsill --
the distance
between our goodbyes
and this silent apartment

Winner, Tanka Splendor Awards, 2005

Laryalee Fraser 


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

冰冷的雨
滴在窗台上 --
在我們的告別
和這間安靜公寓
之間的距離

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

冰冷的雨
滴在窗台上 --
在我们的告别
和这间安静公寓
之间的距离


Bio Sketch

A resident of British Columbia, Canada, Laryalee Fraser was actively engaged in online poetry forums from the mid-1990’s until her death in 2013. Her poetry has been widely published in haiku and tanka journals, and  in 2006, she compiled an online anthology of haiku, "a procession of ripples."

1 comment:

  1. Laryalee's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to a multi-sensorily poignant ending that reveals the theme of "grief" after a breakup, which is symbolized by Ls 3-5.

    The central line is layered with multiple meanings, physical, mental, and symbolic...

    And my tanka below could be read as a prequel to Laryalee's:

    after the farewell
    she doesn't wave back --
    moonlight
    even colder on my face
    than October's snowflakes

    Cold Moon Journal, October 2 2023

    ReplyDelete