English Original
there is no way
but that one carries
one’s own burden
I walk
in the dimness of day
Eucalypt, 3, 2008
Aya Yuhki
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
別無選擇
只能背負
自己的重擔
我行走
在昏暗的白晝
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
别无选择
只能背负
自己的重担
我行走
在昏暗的白昼
Bio Sketch
Aya Yuhki was born and now lives in Tokyo. She started writing tanka more than thirty years ago and has expanded her interests to include free verse poetry, essay writing, and literary criticism. Aya Yuhki is Editor-in-Chief of The Tanka Journal published by the Japan Poets’ Society. Her works are featured on the homepage of the Japan Pen Club’s Electronic Library.
Ls 2-5 reveal the heavy burden, as implied from L5, carried by one person, the speaker alone while L1 could mean both of the following cases: 1) with no resource and 2) no close friend or family member for support/help
ReplyDeleteAnd my tanka below could be read as its sequel:
not seeing
we pass by each other
then disappear --
snow traces the weight
of each burden
Modern English Tanka, 11, Spring 2009
A gentle reminder:
If you share in a heart-felt sorrow, you can lighten the load of a friend. Sometimes facing the burden together can mend two broken hearts in the end.
-- Wes Fesler