English Original
almost broken,
broken,
chains of connection,
some having died,
some corridor silent
Sanford Goldstein
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
幾乎斷裂了,
已經斷裂了,
這些人際關係鏈,
有些人已經過世,
某條走廊寂靜無聲
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
几乎断裂了,
已经断裂了,
这些人际关系链,
有些人已经过世,
某条走廊寂静无声
Bio Sketch
Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English.
Goldstein's heartfelt tanka effectively builds, line/poetic phrase (ku) by line/poetic phrase (ku), to a thematically significant and multi-sensorily poignant ending that reveals the theme of the experience of/response to (L5) multiple losses (human lives in L4 and connections in Ls 1-3).
ReplyDeleteAnd his use of repetition is effective, adding emotional weight and psychological depth to the tanka.