Tuesday, February 18, 2025

One Man's Maple Moon: Tin Box Tanka by Carole MacRury

English Original

in this tin box
of unmatched buttons
one baby tooth --
her lifelong attachment
for things detached
Carole MacRury 


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在這個錫盒
裝有不匹配的鈕釦中
發現一顆乳牙 --
她對於疏離事物
一生的依戀

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在这个锡盒
装有不匹配的钮扣中
发现一颗乳牙 --
她对于疏离事物
一生的依恋


Bio Sketch

Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work.  She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).  

3 comments:

  1. The implied question raised by the unusual discover in Ls 1-3 is changed to a "dialectic one" about life and possessions in Ls 4&5, her lifelong "attachment"/ for "things detached"

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  2. Thank you Chen-ou for featuring my tanka and especially for your insightful comments. This is the final tanka of a sequence titled 'The Button Box'.

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  3. This is a stellar tanka with very clean structure and evocative imagery.

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