English Original
knowing sorrow
won’t go sailing
or for a swim
I take a long walk
to the cliffs and back
First Place, 2012 San Francisco International Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka Contest
Michael McClintock
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
深知悲傷
不會出海航行
也不會去游泳
我選擇長途步行
走到懸崖邊再走回來
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
深知悲伤
不会出海航行
也不会去游泳
我选择长途步行
走到悬崖边再走回来
Bio Sketch
Michael McClintock's lifework in haiku, tanka, and related literature spanned over four decades. His many contributions to the field included six years as president of the Tanka Society of America (2004-2010) and contributing editor, essayist, and poet for dozens of journals, anthologies, landmark collections and critical studies. McClintock lived in Clovis, California, where he worked as an independent scholar, consultant for public libraries, and poet. Meals at Midnight [tanka], Sketches from the San Joaquin [haiku] and Streetlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka, were some of his recent titles.
The scene is at the ocean–clean air, a fresh breeze, a majestic view as seen from a cliff. There is the calming motion of waves, the seemingly endless expanse of water meeting the sky at the horizon. The poet, perhaps, chose this spot because it is one which refreshes the spirit. He or she is feeling sad or despair. What can be done? The poet is aware that these feelings won’t go away, won’t disappear with some pleasurable activity like sailing or swimming. We don’t need to know the why or the what of these feelings, just that they are present and that the poet has found a renewed spirit in an immersion in nature’s beauty. A long walk to the cliffs and back is sufficient to achieve acceptance of what is... excerpted from the judge's comments, accessed at https://www.hpnc.org/2012
ReplyDeleteIn Ls 1-3, “knowing sorrow / won’t go sailing / or for a swim,” the speaker grants grief a stubborn, physical autonomy. By framing sorrow as a companion that refuses to engage in recreational distractions, the tanka uses conversational phrasing to make this personification feel grounded rather than ornate.
DeleteL4, “I take a long walk,” serves as a sharp pivotal turn. Rather than intellectualizing the emotion, the speaker responds with direct physical action. L5, “to the cliffs and back,” establishes a concrete spatial boundary that lends the poem structural symmetry while leaving the internal conflict unresolved.
The concluding phrase, “and back,” is particularly resonant; though the journey alters nothing extrinsically, the speaker’s departure and return signal a quiet endurance.Crucially, the destination of “the cliffs” introduces a subtle undercurrent of danger, gesturing toward self-harm or suicide without explicitly naming it. This emotional restraint gives the tanka its poignant, lingering power.