English Original
the attic ceiling
bowed by the weight
of time ...
mother says the nights
were darker then
Haibun Today, 11:4, December 2017
Tim Gardiner
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
閣樓天花板
因年代久遠
而下垂 ...
媽媽說在那個年代
夜晚更加黑暗
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
阁楼天花板
因年代久远
而下垂...
妈妈说在那个年代
夜晚更加黑暗
Bio Sketch
Dr. Tim Gardiner is an ecologist, poet and children's author from Manningtree in Essex, UK. His tanka have been published in literary magazines including Atlas Poetica, Ribbons and Skylark. Tim's debut haiku collection, On the Edge, was published by Brambleby Books in 2017, while The Flintknapper's Ghost (haibun) was published in 2018 by Alba Publishing.
The upper verse depicts a gloomy scene about the speaker's poverty-stricken family while the "darker nights" statement in the lower verse is symbolically rich and emotionally poignant, effectively enhancing the tone and mood of the tanka.
ReplyDeletethank you Chen-ou, this is a personal one about my aunt's house, a wonderful 400 year old coaching inn. Mother's childhood was spent there, while I used to visit aunt in my childhood.
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