he tells me
why the character for "spring"
is upside down
still the snowflakes
drift between us
GUSTS, 15, Spring/Summer 2012
Christina Nguyen
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
他告訴我
為什麼中文字“春天”
上下顛倒
雪花依然
在我們之間飄落
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
他告诉我
为什麽中文字“春”
上下颠倒
雪花依然
在我们之间飘落
Bio Sketch
Christina Nguyen is a poet and writer living in Minnesota, USA. Find her on Twitter as @TinaNguyen and blogging Japanese short form poetry at A wish for the sky. Her work has appeared in various anthologies and journals including Modern Haiku, Ribbons, GUSTS, red lights, American Tanka, Frogpond, Prune Juice, Moonbathing, and tinywords. In 2013, some of her poetry will appear in A New Resonance 8: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku from Red Moon Press.
The thematic shift in the lower verse of this symbolically rich tanka about relationship is emotionally poignant.
ReplyDeleteNote:
Chinese Character “春” (“spring”) is often seen hanging “upside down.” It’s because the Chinese character "倒" (dào, "upside down") sounds the same as "到" (dào, "arrive"). Therefore, character “春”hung upside down symbolizes the arrival of spring.