English Original
at the head
of the procession
an old man
balances on one hand
the tiny white coffin
Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, III, 2011
James Tipton
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在葬禮隊伍
的前頭
一位老人
僅用一隻手保持平衡
小小的白色棺材
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在葬礼队伍
的前头
一位老人
仅用一只手保持平衡
小小的白色棺材
Bio Sketch
James Tipton lived in Ajijic, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Chapala, where he wrote poetry and enjoyed village life. His work is widely published, including credits in The Nation, Southern Humanities Review, and American Literary Review. He is also included in various anthologies and other works, most recently Haiku: A Poet’s Guide and Erotic Haiku.
James's tanka effectively builds, line by line, to an unexpected yet visually, emotionally, and thematically poignant ending that reveals the theme of death of a child ("the tiny white coffin"). The surprise is doubled: the procession is a funeral, and most unsettling, it is the funeral of a smaill child whose "tiny white coffin" can be "balanc[ed] on one hand." The matter-of-fact tone, and the contrast between the old and young, the living and dead, add emotional weight and psychological depth to this heart-wrenching tanka.
ReplyDeleteAnd the following tanka could be read as a sequel to James's:
in smoky twilight
i remember how light
his casket was
yet i can’t pick up his toys
still scattered in the yard
tinywords, 9:1, January 25 2010
John Stone
These two heart-wrenching tanka reminds me of the following remark:
A flower bloomed already wilting. Beginning its life with an early ending.
-- R.J. Gonzales