One Man's Maple Moon: Procession Tanka by James Tipton

English Original 

at the head 

of the procession 

an old man 

balances on one hand 

the tiny white coffin 

Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, III, 2011

James Tipton

 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在葬禮隊伍

的前頭

一位老人

僅用一隻手保持平衡

小小的白色棺材

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在葬礼队伍

的前头

一位老人

仅用一只手保持平衡

小小的白色棺材

 

Bio Sketch

James Tipton lived in Ajijic, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Chapala, where he wrote poetry and enjoyed village life. His work is widely published, including credits in The Nation, Southern Humanities Review, and American Literary Review. He is also included in various anthologies and other works, most recently Haiku: A Poet’s Guide and Erotic Haiku.

Butterfly Dream: Two Straws Haiku by James Tipton

English Original 

full moon

two straws 

in the coconut

Frogpond,  29:3,  2006

James Tipton

 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

滿月

兩根吸管

在椰子裡

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

满月

两根吸管

在椰子里

 

Bio Sketch

James Tipton lived in Ajijic, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Chapala, where he wrote poetry and enjoyed village life. His work is widely published, including credits in The Nation, Southern Humanities Review, and American Literary Review. He is also included in various anthologies and other works, most recently Haiku: A Poet’s Guide and Erotic Haiku.

Poetic Musings: Procession Tanka by James Tipton

at the head 

of the procession 

an old man 

balances on one hand 

the tiny white coffin 

Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, III, 2011

James Tipton 

Commentary: James's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet visually, emotionally, and thematically poignant ending that reveals the theme of death of a child ("the tiny white coffin"). The surprise is doubled: the procession is a funeral, and most unsettling, it is the funeral of a smaill child whose "tiny white coffin" can be "balanc[ed] on one hand." The matter-of-fact tone, and the contrast between the old and young, the living and dead, add emotional weight and psychological depth to this heart-wrenching tanka.