English Original
my friend's trying
to fly with one wing:
pushing
at the walker, his arm
in a sling... and a broken hip
Lorraine Pester
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
我的朋友在嘗試
用一隻翅膀飛行：
他用一隻手
推動助行器, 另一隻手臂
在吊帶裡面 ... 和骨折的臀部
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
我的朋友在尝试
用一只翅膀飞行：
他用一只手
推动助行器, 另一只手臂
在吊带里面 ... 和骨折的臀部
Bio Sketch
Being curious and staying open to possibility is Lorraine Pester’s way of keeping her haikai fresh. She shies from no topic that presents itself. Her deliberate interactions with birds while dog walking is a frequent theme. She lives with her husband and Abbey schnauzer in south Texas.
The implied simile established between one wing flying in L2 and one arm pushing at the walker in Ls 3&4 is visually evocative and emotionally powerful, and the concluding phrase, a broken hip, in L5 not only adds emotional weight to this courage tanka, but also reveals something significant about the speaker's friend's character.
ReplyDeleteAnd it might be interesting to do a thematic comparative reading of the following tanka:
trailing the flames
of a sinking sun
heron wings
remind me
to be brave
The Bamboo Hut, Autumn 2014
Caroline Skanne
For more about character tanka, see "To the Lighthouse: Character/Persona Tanka," accessed at http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-lighthouse-characterpersona-tanka.html