English Original
my total life
a shadow flickering
across the moon
one moment here
the next I float away
Time Together, 2022
Naomi Beth Wakan
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
我的一生
就像一個影子閃爍
橫穿過月亮
一會兒在這裡
另一刻我就飄走了
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
我的一生
就像一个影子闪烁
横穿过月亮
一会儿在这里
另一刻我就飘走了
Bio Sketch
Naomi Beth Wakan is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Nanaimo (2014–16) and the Federation of British Columbia Writer’s Inaugural Honorary Ambassador. She has published over fifty books. Her most recent book of essays, On the Arts, came out in 2020 (Shanti Arts). Her trilogy, The Way of Tanka, The Way of Haiku, and Poetry That Heals was published by Shanti Arts in 2019. Wakan is a member of The League of Canadian Poets, Haiku Canada, and Tanka Canada. She lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, the sculptor Elias Wakan.
The whole tanka works as a simile for life, which is both temporary and uncertain.
ReplyDeleteThis view of personal life is in sharp contrast with the moon's "cyclical" life cycle.