Friday, March 24, 2023

One Man's Maple Moon: Henpecked Husband Tanka by Mary Gunn

English Original

seated
with his back to the group
of married women ...
the henpecked husband nods
listening to his wife

Moonbathing, 19, 2018

Mary Gunn


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

靜坐
背對著一群
已婚的婦女 ...
在傾聽他的妻子講話時
怕老婆的丈夫不停地點頭

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

静坐
背对着一群
已婚的妇女 ...
在倾听他的妻子讲话时
怕老婆的丈夫不停地点头


Bio Sketch

Mary Gunn has been writing haiku, tanka and cherita for several years. Her tanka has appeared in a variety of publications, both online and in print, including Eucalypt, Blithe Spirit, Presence, Moonbathing, Atlas Poetica, cattails and Poetry Quarterly.

1 comment:

  1. Mary's middle-of-the-story tanka ( about an "intervension episode" in Rural Life/Tightly-Knit Community Reality Show as implied from Ls 1&2) effectively builds line by line to an unexpected yet thematically significant and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of [unhealthy] power dynamics (as indicated in Ls 4&5) in a marriage.

    ReplyDelete