Monday, January 16, 2023

One Man's Maple Moon: Day by Day Tanka by Fumi Saito

English Original

passing day by day
the place where one has gone
the loneliness
in the summer of other times
an autumn cicada shrills


Fumi Saito


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一天天過去
人已經離開的這個地方
在其他時候的夏天
這種孤獨
一隻秋蟬刺耳的叫聲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一天天过去
人已经离开的这个地方
在其他时候的夏天
这种孤独
一只秋蝉刺耳的叫声
 
 
Bio Sketch

Daughter of a military officer who was noted for his verse-writing talent, Fumi Saito began writing poetry in the traditional 31-syllable tanka form in her early teens. Her first book of tanka, Fish Songs, published in 1940, immediately established her as a brilliant young poet. She was inducted into the Japan Art Academy in 1993 and invited to serve as meshiudo (a position similar to the Poet Laureate's) at the Imperial Palace in 1997.

1 comment:

  1. Fumi's mood tanka effectively builds, poetic phrase (ku)/line by poetic phrase (ku)/line, to a multi-sensorily poignant ending that reveals the theme of seasons (Ls 4&5) of loneliness (in a relationship implied from L2)

    And my haiku below could be read as a sequel to Fumi's:

    streaks of crimson
    swallowed by the night sky
    yet still
    the rise and fall
    of a cicada's song

    Cattails, April, 2021

    ReplyDelete