even the snow
that kept your frozen footsteps
is gone from the yard
I feed the birds in your boots
angry at warmth of sunshine
First Place, 2014 UHTS Fleeting Words Tanka Contest
Djurdja Vukelic Rozic
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
就連保存你腳印
的雪都已從院子
消失不見了
我餵藏在你靴子裡的鳥
並氣憤溫暖的陽光
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
就连保存你脚印
的雪都已从院子
消失不见了
我餵藏在你靴子里的鸟
并气愤温暖的阳光
Bio Sketch
Djurdja Vukelic Rozic was born in 1956, lives in the town of Ivanic Grad, Croatia, edits magazine IRIS,
translates and writes poetry, humorous sketches, short stories, haiku
and haibun. So far she has published twenty books and
translated a number of collections and anthologies into English. And her
poetry has received thirty awards.
This First Place tanka composed by Đurđa Vukelić Rožić from Croatia, was at the top of my short list the minute I read it. This gifted author manages to mention nature four times over with "snow (line 1), "frozen" (line 2),"birds" (line 4) and "sunshine" in line 5; she then adds human elements four times over as well with "footprints" (line 2), "yard" (line 3), "boots" (line 4), and "angry" in line 5. This fine tanka portrays loss, empathy, appreciation, anger, every Japanese nuance (in this judge's opinion), that any tanka reader could ask for! Đurđa's translation from her native language to English, kept the desirable tanka rhythm.
ReplyDelete-- excerpted from the judge's comment, which can be accessed at http://unitedhaikuandtankasociety.com/contests143.html