English Original
a robin's
shiny black head
in the rain
Mussorgsky
on the stereo
Eucalypt, 4, 2008
M. Kei
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一隻知更鳥
閃亮的黑色的頭
在雨中
立體聲響流洩出
穆索斯基的音樂
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一只知更鸟
闪亮的黑色的头
在雨中
立体声响流泄出
穆索斯基的音乐
Bio Sketch
M. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet who lives on Maryland’s Eastern shore. He is the editor of Atlas Poetica: A Journal of World Tanka. His most recent collection of poetry is January, A Tanka Diary. He is also the author of the award-winning gay Age of Sail adventure novels, Pirates of the Narrow Seas. He can be followed on Twitter @kujakupoet, or visit AtlasPoetica.org.
This is a fine example of mood tanka. His striking and sensory juxtaposition of robin's/ "shiny black head," Ls 1&2 and Mussorgsky's music, Ls 4&5 (known for its dark, moody, and dramatic scenes) offers the reader a richly visual and auditory experience.
ReplyDeleteWho could not sink into the mood suggested by the wet darkness, Ls 2&3, of a robin’s head and the darkness of the music of a Russian composer, Ls 4&5?