English Original
strolling together
on cracked sidewalk
the diverging lines
lead us to separate paths
though we say we are one
Jackie Chou
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一起散步
在破裂的人行道上
這些不同的裂縫
引導我們走向分離的道路
雖然我們硬說是一體不分的
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一起散步
在破裂的人行道上
这些不同的裂缝
引导我们走向分离的道路
虽然我们硬说是一体不分的
Bio Sketch
Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California. She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers. Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.
Through the use of a walking metaphor (for a slower, more contemplative way of doing/thinking about a thing), Jackie's tanka effectively builds, poetic phrase (ku)/ line by poetic phrase (ku)/ line, to a thematically significant and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of "dialectical tensions" (together, divergent, separate, and one) in a relationship.
ReplyDeleteAnd it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following tanka:
two walking sticks
lean against
the trail head sign,
so many ways to fall
in love again
Second Place, 2017 Sanford Goldstein Tanka Contest
Tom Clausen