A Room of My Own: Winter Crow Tanka

wingbeats
of a winter crow
I try
to fend off thoughts
of death and dying

One Man's Maple Moon: Mortality Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

no falling blossoms
speak
my own mortality
only this crumpled napkin
this stained cup

Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, III, 2011

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

沒有飄落的花朵
能夠訴話
我自己必死的命運
只有這個皺巴巴的餐巾
以及這個有污垢的杯子

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

没有飘落的花朵
能够诉话
我自己必死的命运
只有这个皱巴巴的餐巾
以及这个有污垢的杯子


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 94 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka.  His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

A Room of My Own: Birthing of Darkness Tanka

to Dylan Thomas

rage, rage
against the birthing
of this darkness
will I be at the edge
of the tunnel light

A Room of My Own: Strands of White Hair Tanka

on the sunny day
that I was born
I started growing old ...
strands of white hair
on this young busker's head

One Man's Maple Moon: Mixed Blood Tanka by Shuji Terayama

English Original

being of mixed blood
I feel lonely
even if I win --
I walk along chewing
a hot grass stalk

Kaleidoscope, 2007

Shuji Terayama


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

因為是混血
即使打架贏了
我也感到孤獨 --
一邊走路一邊咀嚼
一根熱草莖

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

因为是混血
即使打架赢了
我也感到孤独 -- 
一边走路一边咀嚼
一树根热草茎


Bio Sketch

The avant-garde stage and film director, poet, critic, author and founder of the experimental theater group Tenjo Sajiki, Shuji Terayama was born in 1935 in Aomori, Japan. He started writing tanka in his late teens and received the Tanka Kenkyu Award for Emerging Poets. He published several tanka collections before he stopped writing at the age of 30. Many of his tanka read more like scenes from a movie scene or short story. He died in 1983. The first English language collection of his tanka, Kaleidoscope, was published by The Hokuseido Press in 2008 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of  his death.

One Man's Maple Moon: Remaining Years Tanka by Saito Mokichi

English Original

I'm not sure
about my remaining years,
going upstairs
and sleeping
even in the daytime

The Prism of Mokichi, 2013 (trans. by Aya Yuhki et al)

Saito Mokichi


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

不確定
我的餘生將會如何
爬上樓去
即使在大白天
我倒頭就睡

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

不确定
我的余生将会如何
爬上楼去
即使在大白天
我倒头就睡 


Bio Sketch

Saito Mokichi (May 14, 1882 -- February 25, 1953) was a psychiatrist and one of the most successful practitioners of the new tanka. In 1913, he published Shakko (Red Lights), a book that created a great impression not only on tanka poets but also on the literary world in general. In 1951, he received the Order of Culture.

A Room of My Own: Pain Tanka

staring at myself

I punch it, punch it

hard and fast ...

as if I could expel pain

from inside to outside

Note: The tanka above  is written in the style of Onihishigitei.

Onihishigitei is the style of demon-quelling force, and it is characterized by its “strong or even violent or vulgar diction.” (Brower, p. 406) This style refers to poems whose “imagery or treatment conveys an impression of violence. Such poems are found in particular in Book XVI of Man’yoshū." (Brower and Miner, p. 247)

-- excerpted from my "To the Lighthouse" post, "Onihishigitei, the Style of Demon-Quelling Force" 

One Man's Maple Moon: Last Breath Tanka by Gabriel Bates

English Original

every time
I think this will be
my last breath
the sound of insects
stirs me

Gabriel Bates


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

每一次
我認為這將是
最後的一口氣
昆蟲的聲音
就攪動我的心

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

每一次
我认为这将是
最后的一口气
昆虫的声音
就搅动我的心


Bio Sketch

Gabriel Bates is a contemporary poet from Pittsburg, Kansas. His work has appeared in several journals, online and in print. Keep up with him at gabrieljbates.wordpress.com

Butterfly Dream: Life Haiku by John Hawk

English Original

therestofmylifestuckintraffic

Daily Haiku, Cycle 12, 2012

John Hawk


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我的餘生陷在交通阻塞中

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我的余生陷在交通阻塞中


Bio Sketch

John Hawk’s haiku poetry is published worldwide and recently won 1st Choice, Guest Judge Selection, in the IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award contest. A communications professional in downtown Columbus, Ohio, USA, John enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and two children. He can be reached at johnhawkpoetry@gmail.com

One Man's Maple Moon: Uncertainty Tanka by Janet Lynn Davis

English Original

clouds of smoke
from a too-hot skillet --
my thoughts
swirl with the uncertainty
of what's to come

A Hundred Gourds, 4:3, June 2015 

Janet Lynn Davis


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

雲朵般的煙霧
從過熱的煎鍋上升起 --
我的想法
與未來的不確定性
一起擺盪不停

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

云朵般的烟雾
从过热的煎锅上升起 --
我的想法
与未来的不确定性
一起摆荡不停


Bio Sketch

Janet Lynn Davis lives in Texas (USA). Her tanka and other poems have appeared in numerous online and print venues over the past several years. She served as vice president of the Tanka Society of America during 2014 and 2015

One Man's Maple Moon: Former Self Tanka by Barry George

English Original

I race against
my former self
Ben-Hur unbound in Rome
as our chariots spark
and separate again

Gusts, 24, Fall/Winter, 2016

Barry George


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我們的四輪馬車相撞
產生火花並且再次分開
我和過去的自我
相互競賽
他是羅馬不受拘束的賓漢

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我们的四轮马车相撞
产生火花并且再次分开
我和过去的自我
相互竞赛
他是罗马不受拘束的宾汉

Bio Sketch

Barry George is the author of Wrecking Ball and Other Urban Haiku and The One That Flies Back, a collection of tanka. He has won the AWP Intro Poets Award, a Pushcart Prize nomination, and numerous Japanese short-form competitions, including First Prize in the Gerald R. Brady Senryu Contest.

Butterfly Dream: Identity Haiku by Samantha Sirimanne Hyde

English Original

indian ocean …
I query my identity
yet again

Samantha Sirimanne Hyde


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

印度洋 …
再次質問
我的身份認同

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

印度洋 …
再次质问
我的身份认同


Bio Sketch

Samantha Sirimanne Hyde was born in Sri Lanka and now lives in Australia. She enjoys dabbling in short fiction, free verse, haiku, tanka and other Japanese poetry forms.

One Man's Maple Moon: Birthday Tanka by LeRoy Gorman

English Original

still alive
for another birthday
a man with a crooked smile
stares me down
from the mirror

A Hundred Gourds, 5:1, December 2015

LeRoy Gorman


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

仍然活著
過另一個生日
一個有歪嘴笑容的人
從鏡子裡
久久地瞪著我

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

仍然活著
过另一个生日
一个有歪嘴笑容的人
从镜子里
久久地瞪著我


Bio Sketch

LeRoy Gorman writes mostly minimalist and visual poetry.  His most recent book, fast enough to leave this world, is one of tanka collections published by Inkling Press, Edmonton.  More information on his writing can be found at the American Haiku Archives where he served as the Honorary Curator for 2012-2013

One Man's Maple Moon: Mirror Tanka by Shloka Shankar

English Original

these eyes
staring back from the mirror
no longer mine...
when did I start living
in denial?

Chrysanthemum, October 2014

Shloka Shankar


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

從鏡子裡
回瞪的這些眼睛
不再是我的 ...
什麼時候我開始生活
在否認之中？ 

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

从镜子里
回瞪的这些眼睛
不再是我的 ...
什麽时候我开始生活
在否认之中？


Bio Sketch

Shloka Shankar is a freelance writer residing in India. Her work appears in over two dozen international anthologies. Her poems, erasures, haiku, haiga and tanka have appeared in numerous print and online journals. She is also the editor of the literary and arts journal, Sonic Boom

A Room of My Own: Piece by Piece Tanka

I'm scared
I'm scared of myself...
at daybreak
piece by piece I try
to put myself together

A Room of My Own: Empty Flower Vase Tanka

one after another
the days come
... and bring nothing
on our dinner table
an empty flower vase

A Room of My Own: Noisy Silence Haiku

snow on footprints
after the funeral
noisy silence

One Man's Maple Moon: Destiny Tanka by Larry Kimmel

English Original

on my back
on a bed
in a bed & breakfast –
my dime destiny
mapped on a cracked ceiling

Modern English Tanka, 12, Summer 2009

Larry Kimmel


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

平躺在
家庭旅館
的床上 --
我的廉價命運反映
在有裂縫的天花板上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

平躺在
家庭旅馆
的床上 --
我的廉价命运反映
在有裂缝的天花板上


Bio Sketch

Larry Kimmel is a US poet. He holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Pittsburgh University, and has worked at everything from steel mills to libraries. Recent books are this hunger, tissue-thin, and shards and dust. He lives with his wife in the hills of Western Massachusetts.

A Room of My Own: Paper Bag Tanka

bombarded
by the sound of silence
I look out the window
at a white paper bag
trapped in a wind vortex

Butterfly Dream: Dust Motes Haiku by Robert Epstein

English Original

dust motes
we don't really
die alone

Modern Haiku, 45.1, Winter/Spring 2014

Robert Epstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

微塵
我們並非
孤獨地死去

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

微尘
我们并非
孤独地死去


Bio Sketch

Robert Epstein, a psychologist and haiku poet/anthologist, lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has edited four anthologies:  The Breath of Surrender; Dreams Wander On; The Temple Bell Stops; and Now This.  He has written two books of haiku:  A Walk Around Spring Lake; and Checkout Time is Noon, as well as a chapbook titled, What My Niece Said in His Head:  Haiku and Senryu.