wondering
where her son is now
she picks
the spent blossoms
from a purple primrose
Ken Slaughter
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
從紫色報春花中
她挑揀
盛開過的花朵
卻一邊心想
她兒子的下落
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
从紫色报春花中
她挑拣
盛开过的花朵
却一边心想
她儿子的下落
Bio Sketch
Ken Slaughter began writing tanka in 2012. His tanka are published in a variety of online and print journals. His tanka won second prize and honorable mention in the 2012 Tanka Society of America International contest. He won an honorable mention in the 2014 contest. Ken lives in Massachusetts, USA, with his wife and two cats.
The contrasts between the "lost son" and "spent blossoms" of a purple primrose (Latin: first rose, the symbol of youth/young love) are emotionally effective.
ReplyDeleteA well-crafted "middle-of-the-story" tanka.
Note: "The one thing about the primrose that makes it different from a lot of other flowers is that the primrose is edible and tastes good. So, there are a lot of people that will use it to cook with or to eat raw. Otherwise, there are people that will use it to brew tea with and that sort of thing.... The great thing with the primrose is that it is fairly easy to grow, so for people that are looking for a great flower, they will be able to grow it easily."