Wednesday, April 13, 2022

One Man's Maple Moon: Lovemaking Tanka by George Swede

English Original

another day closer 
to the end of my life 
without lovemaking --
a blue jay is screeching 
in the bare maple 

Short Masterpieces of the Human Heart, 2006

George Swede


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

又過了一天
更接近我生命的盡頭
而沒有做愛 --
光禿禿的楓樹上
一隻藍鳥在尖叫

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

又过了一天
更接近我生命的尽头
而没有做爱 --
光秃秃的枫树上
一只蓝鸟在尖叫


Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000)Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

1 comment:

  1. Ls 1-3 set the theme and mood while a blue jay in L5 functions more like a surrogate for the speaker in L2, screeching for /responding to this loveless, aging life as described in Ls 2&3 as well as symbolized by a bare maple, in L5.

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