Friday, August 21, 2020

One Man's Maple Moon: Private Grief Tanka by Keitha Keyes

English Original

visitors gone
after the wake
we sink
into the vacuum
of our private grief

Cattails, October 2017

Keitha Keyes


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

祈禱守夜過後
所有訪客都走了
我們陷入
私人悲傷
的一片真空

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

祈祷守夜过后
所有访客都走了
我们陷入
私人悲伤
的一片真空


Bio Sketch

Keitha Keyes lives in Sydney, surrounded by antique irons and ship models. She enjoys writing tanka, haiku, senryu, cherita and related genres. Her work is published in many journals and anthologies in Australia and overseas.

1 comment:

  1. The contrast/emotional gap between the two parts (the wake/a social gathering associated with death vs private grief experienced by the deceased's family members) of the tanka is poignantly effective, and what's left unsaid, such as how to bridge this emotional gap/comfort each other in grief, is at least as potent as what's stated.

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