English Original
the cardinal
shows interest
in his song alone
leaving the crows
to quarrel
Modern Tanka Corner, 2011
Brian Zimmer
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
紅雀
只對他的歌聲
有興趣
讓一群烏鴉
爭吵不休
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
红雀
只对他的歌声
有兴趣
让一群乌鸦
争吵不休
Bio Sketch
Brian Zimmer wrote from the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. His work had appeared in various international print and online journals. He took inspiration from a variety of sources, including the ancient Japanese poetic-diary (utanikki) and free-form, poetic "essay" (zuihitsu).
Brian's lighthearted/Issa-esque use of personification to describe contrasting bird behaviours, Ls 1&2 vs L 5, in response to the human singing voice, L 3, is fresh and emotionally effective.
ReplyDeleteAnd it might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading of my tanka below:
a red cardinal
between heaven and earth
the grassy fields
of my desire for her
roll on under the sun
Frameless Sky,1, December 2014