the leaf gone
but the imprint remains --
my heart as hard
as this concrete
after your suicide
Red Lights, 3:1, 2007
Michael Dylan Welch
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
葉子飄落不見
但是它的痕跡依然存在 --
在你自殺之後
我的心就像是混凝土
一樣地堅硬
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
叶子飘落不见
但是它的痕迹依然存在 --
在你自杀之后
我的心就像是混凝土
一样地坚硬
Bio Sketch
Michael
Dylan Welch is the founder
of the Tanka Society of America (2000), and co-founder of Haiku North
America conference (1991) and the American Haiku Archives (1996). In
2010 he also started National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo), which
takes place every February, with an active Facebook page. His personal
website is www.graceguts.com, which features hundreds of essays,
reviews, reports, and other content, including examples of his published
poetry.
The contrasts (leaf gone vs life lost; imprint vs concrete;...) between the two parts of the tanka are visually and emotionally poignant, reminding me of the following thought-provoking remark made by my late friend, Brian Zimmer, who died in 2014:
ReplyDeleteThe leaf does not grasp or grieve its last day.
-- Brian Zimmer, "Spring's First Caress: Tanka by Brian Zimmer," 2015