Monday, May 13, 2019

One Man's Maple Moon: Street Kid Tanka by Wendy Bourke

English Original

I walk past
the street kid
holding out a dirty palm --
the gray day
begins spitting

Spent Blossoms,  2015 Tanka Society of America Members' Anthology

Wendy Bourke


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我擦身而過
一個街頭小孩
他伸出一隻髒手 --
灰色的天空
開始下毛毛雨

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我擦身而过
一个街头小孩
他伸出一只脏手 -
灰色的天空
开始下毛毛雨


Bio Sketch

Wendy Bourke lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes, takes long rambling walks gathering photos and inspiration – and hangs out with her young grandsons.  Her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, journals, chapbooks and tanka publications. 
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2 comments:

  1. Chen-ou Liu, 劉鎮歐May 13, 2019 at 2:03 PM

    Ls 1-3 sketch a not-so-unusual urban street scene while the unexpected yet visually and emotionally poignant last word, spitting (not commonly used verb, drizzling), enhances the gloomy tone and mood of the tanka.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wendy BourkeMay 13, 2019 at 3:58 PM

    Thank you so much for this, Chen-ou. I am honored to have my tanka translated.

    ReplyDelete