Saturday, October 5, 2024

One Man's Maple Moon: Old Age Tanka by George Swede

English Original

entering old age
I look less for truth
but find it more --
a mid-winter thaw reveals
pieces of sky

Poetry That Heals, 2018

George Swede


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

步入老年
我較少探求真相
但發現更多的真相 --
仲冬的解凍揭示了
天空的碎片

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

步入老年
我较少探求真相
但发现更多的真相 --
仲冬的解冻揭示了
天空的碎片


Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000)Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

1 comment:

  1. The self-reflection on the relationship between old age and searching for truth in Ls 1-3 is enhanced or negated by this visually evocative and symbolically rich image of Ls 4&5, a mid- winter[symbolizing the stage of life] thaw reveal[ing] pieces of sky [symbolizing fragments of truth], depending one's understanding/view of truth.

    And it might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading of the following:

    to reach an age
    when things fall away
    unneeded
    as spent petals from a flower
    as skins of summer snakes

    Time Together, 2022

    Naomi Beth Wakan

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