all these years
dropping pebbles into a well
the small splash
of a poem’s acceptance
then silence
The Tanka Journal, 24, 2004
Larry Kimmel
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
所有這些年來
把鵝卵石丟進井裡
接受一首詩
就像小水滴飛濺
然後寂靜無聲
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
所有这些年来
把鹅卵石丢进井里
接受一首诗
就像小水滴飞溅
然後寂静无声
Bio Sketch
Larry
Kimmel was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He lives quietly in the
hills of western Massachusetts. His most recent books are shards and dust and outer edges. The Piercing Blue of Sirius: Selected Poems 1968 - 2008 is free to read online.
This bipartite evocative tanka works effectively as an extended simile about the relationship between writing and reading, and its concluding word is layered with multiple meanings. It reminds me of one of my published tanka:
ReplyDeleteI skip
a stone of words
across the lake
of another time
another place
First published in Lynx, 26:2, June 2011
Reprinted in "Poet and Tanka" essay, Ribbons, 12:2, Spring/Summer 2016