half
of my thyroid removed
with a tumor
silk scarf gently hides
the scar of loneliness
Gusts, 15, Spring/Summer 2012
Kozue Uzawa
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
有腫瘤
的半個甲狀腺
被切除了
絲巾悄悄地隱藏
我的寂寞傷痕
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
有肿瘤
的半个甲状腺
被切除了
丝巾悄悄地隐藏
我的寂寞伤痕
Bio Sketch
Kozue Uzawa is a retired university professor. She works as editor of the English tanka journal GUSTS. She composes tanka both in Japanese and English. She also translates Japanese tanka into English and co-published Ferris Wheel: 101 Modern and Contemporary Tanka (Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2006), and Kaleidoscope: Selected Tanka of Shuji Terayama
(Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 2008). Ferris Wheel received the 2007 Donald
Keene Translation Award for Japanese Literature from Columbia
University.
Kozue's tanka effectively builds line by line to an unexpected yet thematically and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of illness, both physical and mental. And the shift in L5 adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the tanka.
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