infants' cemetery
the soft white
of fallen snow
blankets the grave
of her cradled loss
Spring's First Caress, 2015
Brian Zimmer
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
嬰兒墓地
落雪
的一片柔白
覆蓋她失去撫育
的墳墓
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
婴儿墓地
落雪
的一片柔白
覆盖她失去抚育
的坟墓
Bio Sketch
Brian Zimmer wrote from the banks of the Mississippi River
in St. Louis, Missouri. His work had appeared in various
international print and online journals. He took inspiration from a variety of
sources, including the ancient Japanese poetic-diary (utanikki) and free-form,
poetic "essay" (zuihitsu).
L1 sets the scene and emotional context while the rest of the tanka effectively builds, line by line, to a visually and emotionally powerful ending.
ReplyDeleteAnd the middle lines (functioning like a snow blanket) adds something comforting to Brian's heart-wrenching tanka, which are bookmarked by "infants' cemetery" and "cradled loss."