this rock
in its silence
louder
through my flesh
than a cicada symphony
Bright Stars, 2, 2014
Carole Harrison
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
這塊岩石
它的沉默
比蟬鳴交響樂
流通過我的肉身
還要響亮
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
这块岩石
它的沉默
比蝉鸣交响乐
流通过我的肉身
还要响亮
Bio Sketch
Carole Harrison combines her love of photography, long distance walking and short form poetry. Her work has been published in Eucalypt, Ribbons, Moonbathing, Atlas Poetica, plus other anthologies and on-line pages. She lives in country Australia surrounded by rainforest, cows and lots of local birds.
Carole effectively uses a paradoxical oxymoron (silence louder ... than a cicada symphony) to call attention to the contrasts between the rock and cicadas. Thematically and emotionally speaking, this tanka reminds me one of Basho's famous haiku:
ReplyDeletedeep silence -
the shrill of cicadas
seeps into rocks
Basho
tr. Gabi Greve