Sunday, May 24, 2015

One Man's Maple Moon: Rugged Moon Tanka by Kala Ramesh

English Original

an evening
of tangled thoughts . . .
through branches
even this rugged moon
looks tattered at the edges

American Tanka, 21, June 2012

Kala Ramesh


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一個晚上
糾結的思緒 ...
透過樹枝
即使是這個凹凸不平的月亮
看起來它的邊緣都是破破爛爛的

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一个晚上
纠结的思绪 ...
透过树枝
即使是这个凹凸不平的月亮
看起来它的边缘都是破破烂烂的


Bio Sketch

Kala Ramesh has published more than one thousand poems comprising haiku, tanka, haibun, & renku in reputed journals and anthologies in Japan, Europe, UK, Australia, USA and India. Her work can be read in two prestigious publications: Haiku 21: an anthology of contemporary English-language Haiku (Modern Haiku Press, 2012) and Haiku in English - the First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton 2013). She enjoys teaching haiku and allied genres at the Symbiosis International University, Pune.

2 comments:

  1. Ls 1&2 establish the thematic context of the poem while Ls 3-5 effectively infuse the natural scene ("this rugged moon") with human emotion or sentiment ("tattered at the edges").

    Kala's well-crafted tanka reminds me of the following comment by Kaibara Ekiken:

    In poetry, the scene (kei) is always in the emotion (jo), and the emotion is always in the scene.

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  2. Dear Kala,

    I enjoyed reading your tanka today. What a wonderful use of imagery. Congratulations on your publication in this beautiful journal.

    Best wishes,
    Karen

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