English Original
somewhere
in the darkness
inside my heart
the lights of a distant city
are burning
January, A Tanka Diary, 2013
M. Kei
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在我心中
黑暗
的某個地方
遙遠城市的霓虹燈
正在燃燒
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在我心中
黑暗
的某个地方
遥远城市的霓虹灯
正在燃烧
Bio Sketch
M. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet who lives on Maryland’s Eastern shore. He is the editor of Atlas Poetica: A Journal of World Tanka. His most recent collection of poetry is January, A Tanka Diary. He is also the author of the award-winning gay Age of Sail adventure novels, Pirates of the Narrow Seas. He can be followed on Twitter @kujakupoet, or visit AtlasPoetica.org.
The contrasts, thematic, visual and emotional, between the two parts (Ls1-3 vs Ls 4&5) of the tanka are fresh and poignantly effective.
ReplyDeleteAnd the hyperbolically fierceful image of, Ls 4&5, the "Lights" of a Distant city/are "Burning," functions more like the projection of the speaker's desire ( to expel the "darkness/inside my heart," Ls 2&3), adding emotional weight and psychological depth to the tanka.