Friday, December 13, 2013

One Man's Maple Moon: Heartfelt Vows Tanka by Beverley George

English Original

quiet exchange
of heartfelt vows ...
bright elements
of west and east
find their single home

Beverley George


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

安靜地交換
由衷誓言 ...
來自西方和東方
的聰慧成員
找到他們的安身之處

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

安静地交换
由衷誓言 ...
来自西方和东方
的聪慧成员
找到他们的安身之处


Bio Sketch

Beverley George is the past editor of Yellow Moon and the founder/editor of Eucalypt: a tanka journal 2006 - . In September 2009 she convened the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, in Terrigal, Australia. Beverley presented papers on haiku in Australia at the 3rd Haiku Pacific Rim conference in Matsuyama, Japan in 2007, and on Australian tanka at the 6th International Tanka Festival, Tokyo 2009. She was the president of the Australian Haiku Society 2006-2010.

5 comments:

  1. Beverley' heartfelt tanka is made up of well-chosen phrases, heartfelt vows, bright elements of west and east, and their single home.

    The upper verse successfully sets the scene/theme while the lower verse skillfully portrays an embodied representation of oneness between the couple, who come from different cultural-ethnic backgrounds.

    And her tanka, especially the lower verse, could be read as a poetic response to Rudyard Kipling's most quoted and often-misunderstood opening line (s) of The Ballad of East and West:

    Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
    (Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
    But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
    When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!)


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  2. Beverley's tanka and haiku were written for her Chinese-Australian nephew, Simon and his soon-to-be-wife, Belinda.

    I wish them 百 年 好 合

    Chen-ou

    note: 百 (bai; hundred) 年 (nian; year) 好 (hao; harmonious) 合 (he; union) (a harmonious union lasting a hundred years)

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  3. The subject this tanka speaks to is one close to my heart - a celebration of unity - the recognition that humanity is One and the happiness of the realisation of this truth in the coming together of a couple . . .
    I found Chen-ou's comments here on Kipling's lines happily illuminating. And yes, don't the poems look wonderful in Chinese.
    Simon Hanson

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Simon:

      Thanks for sharing your wonderful thought.

      Chen-ou

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    2. hello Chen-ou

      My pleasure. I admire greatly your creative efforts in this NeverEnding Story and thoroughly enjoy its ongoing contributions to haiku and tanka . . . thank you

      Simon

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