Wednesday, January 2, 2013

One Man's Maple Moon: Star Tanka by Brian Zimmer

English Original

no abacus
for the task
ahead
where the mists part
I begin counting stars

Excellent Tanka, 7th International Tanka Festival Competition, 2012

Brian Zimmer


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

沒有算盤
作為未來工作
之用
在夜霧分散之處
我計數星辰

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

没有算盘
作为未来工作
之用
在夜雾分散之处
我计数星辰


Bio Sketch:

Brian Zimmer writes from the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. His work has appeared in various international print and online journals. He takes inspiration from a variety of sources, including the ancient Japanese poetic-diary (utanikki) and free-form, poetic "essay" (zuihitsu).

2 comments:

  1. The culturally rich word, abacus, and the implied contrast of two types of counting make this tanka emotionally effective.

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