Thursday, January 7, 2021

One Man's Maple Moon: Deep Forest Tanka by Aya Yuhki

English Original

absence and yearning
nowhere to be reached --
white veils of waterfall
in the deep forest
begin to hide myself

Ribbons, 16:1,  Winter 2020

Aya Yuhki 


Chinese Translation (Traditional) 

缺席與想望
無處可尋 --
在森林深處
瀑布的白色面紗
開始隱藏我自己

Chinese Translation (Simplified) 

缺席与想望
无处可寻 --
在森林深处
瀑布的白色面纱
开始隐藏我自己


Bio Sketch

Aya Yuhki was born and now lives in Tokyo. She started writing tanka more than thirty years ago and has expanded her interests to include free verse poetry, essay writing, and literary criticism. Aya Yuhki is Editor-in-Chief of The Tanka Journal published by the Japan Poets’ Society. Her works are featured on the homepage of the Japan Pen Club’s Electronic Library.

2 comments:

  1. Ls 1&2 set the context, thematic and emotional, while visually evocative and symbolically rich image of Ls 3-5 enhance the theme of evanescence/absence.

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    Replies
    1. Thematically and emotionally speaking, it might be interesting to do comparative reading of the following forest tanka:

      unshackled from myself
      I am just
      a passing thought
      in the mind
      of the forest

      Second Place, 2010 Think TANKA Contest

      Claire Everett

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