Saturday, April 12, 2025

One Man's Maple Moon: Saxophone Player Tanka by Thelma Mariano

English Original

first day of spring --
next to saxophone player
young lovers kiss
after all these years
my heart still leaps

Thelma Mariano

 
Chinese Translation (Traditional)

春天的第一天 --
薩克斯風演奏者旁邊
的年輕戀人擁吻
經過這麼多年
我的心仍然跳動

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

春天的第一天 --
萨克斯風演奏者旁边
的年轻恋人拥吻
经过这么多年
我的心仍然跳动


Bio Sketch

Thelma Mariano is the author of Night Sky: a Selection of Tanka Poetry. She lives in Montreal and has published her tanka in literary journals as well as in various anthologies including Fire Pearls and Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka.

1 comment:

  1. Thelma's tanka effectively builds, poetic phrase (ku)/line by poetic phrase (ku)/line, to a thematically significant and visually and emotionally powerful ending that reveals the theme of the power/influence of "spring" "love."

    And the tanka below could be read as its sequel:

    after your goodbye kiss
    the taste
    of chewed-up blues
    played late in the night
    on a saxophone

    Scent of Jasmine and Brine, 2007

    Linda Jeannette Ward

    ReplyDelete