English Original
mounted butterfly
hanging under hardened glass
floating over cork
just enough room for your dreams
meadow breeze ... a sapphire flash
Modern English Tanka, 1:3, Spring 2007
Denis M. Garrison
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
蝴蝶標本
懸掛在強化玻璃之下
懸浮於軟木之上
足以容納你的夢想
草地微風 ... 藍寶石般的閃光
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
蝴蝶标本
悬挂在强化玻璃之下
悬浮于软木之上
足以容纳你的梦想
草地微风 ... 蓝宝石般的闪光
Bio Sketch
Denis M. Garrison was born in Iowa, USA, and his childhood was spent in Japan, youth in Europe, Africa and western Pacific. His poetry’s widely published. Garrison’s print collections include First Winter Rain,Eight Shades of Blue, Hidden River, Sailor in the Rain and Other Poems, and Fire Blossoms.
This tanka creates a striking contrast between the heavy containment of L2 and the light, fleeting freedom of L5. L4, “just enough room for your dreams,” shifts the tanka from the physical object to an emotional resonance, while the concluding phrase in L5, “sapphire flash,” leaves the reader with a sudden, vivid burst of color and motion.
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