Tuesday, August 6, 2019

One Man's Maple Moon: Heavy Book Tanka by Wendy Bourke

English Original

I pressed his gift
of wildflowers
in the pages
of a heavy book ...
that I could not get into

American Tanka, 25, 2015

Wendy Bourke


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我將他的禮物
一束野花
壓入一本沉重的書
的頁面中 ...
那是我無法進入之處

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我将他的礼物
一束野花
压入一本沉重的书
的页面中...
那是我无法进入之处 


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. 

2 comments:

  1. The twist,thematic and emotional,in the last line effectively dismantle the construct of a familiar Romance Novel trope: flowers (usually a red rose) pressed between the pages of a book.

    On a second reading, the phrase, "heavy book," successfully carries symbolic significance and adds psychological depth to the tanka.

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  2. Thank you so much, Chen-ou, for including me on your lovely website. What a treat! You added a bit of sparkle to my day … on this very hot afternoon, here, on the West Coast.

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