Thursday, April 25, 2013

One Man’s Maple Moon: Tsunami Tanka by Aya Yuhki

English Original

tremendous tsunami
once in a thousand years --
yet we are
the children of sea and
even protected by sea

Ribbons, 8:3, Winter 2012

Aya Yuhki


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一千年才一次
的巨大海嘯---
然而我們是
大海的小孩
並且受它的保護

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一千年才一次
的巨大海啸---
然而我们是
大海的小孩
并且受它的保护


Bio Sketch

Aya Yuhki was born and now lives in Tokyo. She started writing tanka more than thirty years ago and has expanded her interests to include free verse poetry, essay writing, and literary criticism. Aya Yuhki is Editor-in-Chief of The Tanka Journal published by the Japan Poets’ Society. Her works are featured on the homepage of the Japan Pen Club’s Electronic Library.

1 comment:

  1. The shift in theme and tone in lower verse and the gap/tension between reality (described in Ls1&2) and beliefs (proclaimed in Ls 3&5) make this poem poignant and heartfelt.

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