English Original
shot with snowflakes
my image in the window
all a-tremble
I hug myself, the pain
of never-ending war
Yellow Moon, 16, Summer 2004
Kirsty Karkow
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
雪花紛飛
窗戶中我的影像
顫抖不已
我緊抱自己, 承受
永無止境的戰爭所帶來的痛苦
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
雪花纷飞
窗户中我的影像
颤抖不已
我紧抱自己, 承受
永无止境的战争所带来的痛苦
Bio Sketch
Kirsty Karkow lived in Waldoboro, Maine, where she wrote haiku, sijo, tanka, and other short forms. Lyrical, poignant, and spare, her poetry reflected a rich and deep sense of place and spirit. Her haiku have won the Mainichi and the R.H Blyth Award and placed in other contests. And she had two best-selling books in print: water poems: haiku, tanka and sijo and shorelines: haiku, haibun and tanka , published by Black Cat Press.
Kirsty's tanka is effective in capturing a fleeting visual moment, Ls 1-3, tied to both deep emotional resonance, L4, and sociopolitical significance, L5.
ReplyDeleteIt’s delicate, reflective, and haunting—classic tanka qualities.
Ls 4&5 remind me of the following war tanka written by by the most famous Buddhist monk-poet Saigyo’s (1118–1190 AD), with the longest prefatory note:
ReplyDeleteIn the world of men it came to be a time of warfare. Throughout the country -- west, east, north, and south -- there was no place where the war was not being fought. The count of those dying because of it climbed continually and reached an enormous number. It was beyond belief! And for what on earth was this struggle taking place? A most tragic state of affairs
There's no gap or break
In the rank of those marching
Under the hill:
An endless line of dying men,
Moving on and on and on ...