Tuesday, February 8, 2022

One Man's Maple Moon: Strings of Silence Tanka by Hifsa Ashraf

English Original

interweaving 
the strings of silence 
with moonlight 
until this solitude 
becomes a symphony 

Take 5ive, 1, 2021

Hifsa Ashraf


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

將沉默的弦
與月光
交織在一起
直到這孤獨
變成一首交響樂

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

将沉默的弦
与月光
交织在一起
直到这孤独
变成一首交响乐


Bio Sketch

Hifsa Ashraf is from Pakistan. She is a lecturer and HR consultant by profession. She writes short stories, columns, and poetry in different languages. Her poetry has been published in various online journals. Her short stories have been published in a UK-based English magazine.

1 comment:

  1. Enhanced by the effective use of metaphors (interweaving/weaving "together;" moonlight, Buddhist metaphor for enlightenment; strings of (meditative) silence), Hifsa's tanka builds, line by line, to a thematically significant and multi-sensorily effective ending that reveals the theme of a "symphony of silence."

    Her thought-provoking tanka reminds me of the following passage on solitude:

    Loneliness is small; solitude is large. Loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. Loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nobody answers; "solitude has its roots in the great silence of eternity..."

    "In solitude silence becomes a symphony." Time changes from a series of moments strung together into a seamless motion riding on the rhythms of the stars. Loneliness is banished, solitude is in full flower, and we are one with the pulse of life and the flow of time...

    -- Kent Nerburn, "Simple Truths"

    And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of my tanka below where the "mythological art of weaving" as a "writing metaphor" is explored:

    this winter mist ...
    like Penelope I weave
    and unweave
    a shroud of words
    to ward off loneliness

    Special Feature: Myths and the Creative Imagination, Atals Poetica, 2015

    FYI: The ancient art of weaving is a profound "metaphor for recognizing health and wholeness as the primary state, and overcoming the blockages of seemingly broken connections."

    ReplyDelete