the calligraphy
of winter branches
under blue sky
everything he needs to say
in the touch of his hands
GUSTS, 20, Fall/Winter 2014
Susan Constable
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
藍天下
冬天分岔的樹枝
就像在寫書法
他所要說的一切
盡在手的觸摸之中
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
蓝天下
冬天分岔的树枝
就像在写书法
他所要说的一切
尽在手的触摸之中
Bio Sketch
Susan Constable’s haiku and tanka appear in numerous journals and anthologies. Her tanka collection, The Eternity of Waves, was one of the winning entries in the eChapbook Awards for 2012. She co-edited the 2014 anthology for the Seabeck Haiku Retreat and is a is a co-editor for the 2016 TSA Anthology.
Thematically speaking, in Susan's heartfelt bipartite tanka, the prefatory image (the "jo," Ls 1-3) resonates well with the emotional point of the main statement (Ls 4&5). And technically speaking, the closing phrase, "the touch of his hands," effectively provides a scent link (in Basho's sense of the phrase) to the opening image, "the calligraphy/of winter branches."
ReplyDeleteWhat's left unsaid is more important than what's stated.
Note: For more info. about the "jo" and "main statement," see my "Poetic Musings" post, "Bruise Tanka by Susan Constable," which can be accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/2014/05/poetic-musings-bruise-tanka-by-susan.html