English Original
unreal again
the road I walked today
thick fog
whispers in the grass
for the moon to appear
Ardea, 5, 2015
Jane Reichhold
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
沿著我今天走過的路
又一次感覺不真實
一陣濃霧
草叢中低語
等待月亮的出現
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
沿着我今天走过的路
又一次感觉不真实
一阵浓雾
草丛中低语
等待月亮的出现
Bio Sketch
Jane Reichhold (1937–2016) was born Janet Styer in Lima, Ohio. A prolific poet and translator, she published over forty books of haiku, renga, and tanka. Her translation of Basho: The Complete Haiku (Kodansha International) remains her most celebrated work, while her recent tanka collection, Taking Tanka Home, was translated into Japanese by Aya Yuhki.
As the founder of AHA Books, Jane edited Mirrors: International Haiku Forum and Geppo (for the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society). Alongside her husband, Werner Reichhold, she co-edited Lynx starting in 1992, transition it to an online format in 2000 via her website, AHApoetry.com. From 2006 until her passing, she also moderated the AHAforum, a vibrant global community for poets.
L3, "thick fog," acts as the effective bridge between the physical reality of the road in L3 and the mystical "whispers" in L4.The use of "quiet" words (unreal, whispers, fog) creates a cohesive, eerie mood. And L5, "for the moon to appear," provides a strong sense of longing or waiting, which gives the tanka emotional weight.
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