Wednesday, August 3, 2022

One Man's Maple Moon: Windswept Waves Tanka by Kirsty Karkow

English Original

once I wrote
of sailing out to sea
on windswept waves
now as a late tide falls
my poems lie on the shore

shorelines, 2007

Kirsty Karkow


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

曾經我撰寫一首詩
關於在大風吹過的海浪上
揚帆出海
現在隨著晚潮落下
我的一組詩平躺在岸上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

曾经我撰写一首诗
关于在大风吹过的海浪上
扬帆出海
现在随着晚潮落下
我的一组诗平躺在岸上


Bio Sketch

Kirsty Karkow lived in Waldoboro, Maine, where she wrote haiku, sijo, tanka, and other short forms. Lyrical, poignant, and spare, her poetry reflected a rich and deep sense of place and spirit. Her haiku have won the Mainichi and the R.H Blyth Award and placed in other contests. And she had two best-selling books in print: water poems: haiku, tanka and sijo and shorelines: haiku, haibun and tanka , published by Black Cat Press.

1 comment:

  1. Kirsty's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet thematically and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of a writing journey full of all kinds of ups (Ls 2&3) and downs (Ls 4&5).


    And the tanka below could be read as a prequel to Kirsty's:

    I stretch
    my arms to the sea
    as if I unfurl
    white sails --
    the sea sings a requiem

    Ribbons, 18:1, Winter 2022

    Aya Yuhki

    ReplyDelete