English Original
there
but not quite there
the day moon ...
a lifetime of mirage
clinging to the ring finger
Barun Saha
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在那裡
但又不完全在那裡
白天的月亮 ...
海市蜃樓的一生
緊貼在無名指上
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在那里
但又不完全在那里
白天的月亮 ...
海市蜃楼的一生
紧贴在无名指上
Bio Sketch
Barun Saha, PhD, is a Scientist working in Bangalore, India. Barun primarily writes tanka, haiku, and cherita, and has published in several international journals, such as Atlas Poetica, Ribbons, and the cherita. Barun is a member of the Tanka Society of America and the United Haiku and Tanka Society. Visit http://barunsaha.me for more information.
Enhanced by the use of synecdoche (a part/wedding ring used to refer to the whole/marriage), Saha's tanka effectively conveys a sense of uncertainty (Ls 1-3) or even delusion (L4) in a thematically and emotionally paradoxical manner. (there ...not there ...the day moon/lifetime of mirage clinging to the ring finer/lifetime of commitment:"from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part").
ReplyDeleteAnd it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following two tanka, which, I think, could be read as sequels to Saha's:
full moon party
for the newly single
I feel exposed
like the skin
where my ring used to be
Bright Stars, VII, 2014
Chen-ou Liu
by the fountain
with a ring encircling
my finger ...
all I knew then
was the word "forever"
The Bluebird’s Cry, 2016
Christine L. Villa
Thank you, Chen-ou, for kindly publishing the translations! It is an honor to see my poems get translated for the first time!
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