English Original
I look for the birds
that belong to this sky
a white heron
gliding low and slow
the length of this lake
Lorraine Pester
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
我尋找屬於
這片天空的鳥兒
一隻白鷺
低而緩慢地滑翔
整個湖的表面
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
我寻找属于
这片天空的鸟儿
一只白鹭
低而缓慢地滑翔
整个湖的表面
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 contrast between the two parts (the speaker's "view of life" vs a white heron's "life in action") of this man-nature tanka is visually and emotionally effective, and the symbolic significance of a "white heron" adds one more layer of meaning to the tanka.
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