I see him
smiling at her
not me --
a twig snaps
under my foot
red lights, 13:1, January 2017
Marilyn Humbert
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
我看到他
對她微笑
不是對我 --
一根小樹枝在我腳下斷裂
產生尖銳的聲音
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
我看到他
对她微笑
不是对我 --
一根小树枝在我脚下断裂
产生尖锐的声音
Bio Sketch
Marilyn
Humbert lives in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney NSW surrounded by bush.
Her pastimes include writing free verse poetry, tanka, tanka prose and
related genre. She is the leader of Bottlebrush Tanka Group and member
of the Huddle and Bowerbird Tanka Groups. Her tanka appears in
Australian and international journals.
The upper verse sets the theme while the image of the snapping of a twig in the lower verse effectively carries emotional poignancy and symbolic significance.
ReplyDeleteWithin such a short space of 14 words and 14 syllables, Marilyn skillfully shows the speaker's jealousy/envy (against the woman in L2) and passion (towards her loved one in L1).