Sunday, August 22, 2021

One Man's Maple Moon: Archangel Flower Tanka by Tim Gardiner

English Original

by the bridge
we part company ...
I return in silence
an archangel flower
pressed in my palm

Earth: Our Common Ground Anthology,  2017

Tim Gardiner


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

站在橋邊
我們分手了...
默默地我重返原地
一朵天使之花
壓扁在我的掌心

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

站在桥边
我们分手了...
默默地我重返原地
一朵天使之花
压扁在我的掌心


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.

2 comments:

  1. Ls 1&2 set the theme and mood while visually poignant and symbolically rich Ls 4&5 add emotional weight to this relationship tanka. And the lower verse, especially L3, "return in silence," reveals something psychologically significant about the speaker's personality or character/dealing with a breakup.

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  2. The following tanka could be read as a prequel to Tim's:

    two otters
    float across the moon
    holding hands
    on the bridge we watch
    the world flow by

    My Haiku Pond, January 21, 2019

    Martha Magenta

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