One Man's Maple Moon: Crevices Tanka by Jackie Chou

English Original

tiny crevices

on the concrete road

the small chances

with which I blossom

like a wildflower

Oblivious to Daffodils: Haiku and Tanka of a Divergent Mind, 2021

Jackie Chou 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

水泥路上

細小的縫隙

有些微機會

我會像野花

一樣地綻放

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

水泥路上

细小的缝隙

有些微机会

我会像野花

一样地绽放

Bio Sketch

Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California.  She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers.  Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.  

One Man's Maple Moon: Jacaranda Tanka by Jackie Chou

English Original

jacaranda

in the distance

your mind

yet a purple dream

beyond my grasp

Oblivious to Daffodils: Haiku and Tanka of a Divergent Mind, 2021

Jackie Chou 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在遠處

一棵藍花楹

你的想法

仍舊是個紫色的夢

超出我的理解

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在远处

一棵蓝花楹

你的想法

仍旧是个紫色的梦

超出我的理解

Bio Sketch

Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California.  She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers.  Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.  

One Man's Maple Moon: Missing Sliver Tanka by Jackie Chou

English Original

the moon

three-quarter full

I reach

for a taste

of the missing sliver

Oblivious to Daffodils: Haiku and Tanka of a Divergent Mind, 2021

Jackie Chou 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

月亮

四分之三滿

我伸手

去品嚐

那缺失的四分之一

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

月亮

四分之三满

我伸手

去品尝

那缺失的四分之一

Bio Sketch

Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California.  She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers.  Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.  

Butterfly Dream: Anonymity Haiku by Jackie Chou

English Original

field of daffodils

the anonymity

of belonging

Oblivious to Daffodils: Haiku and Tanka of a Divergent Mind, 2021

Jackie Chou 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

水仙花田

歸屬感

的匿名性

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

水仙花田

归属感

的匿名性

Bio Sketch

Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California.  She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers.  Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.  

Cool Announcement: A Freebie, Oblivious to Daffodils by Jackie Chou

My Dear Readers:

NeverEnding Story contributor, Jackie Chou, published a collection of haiku and tanka, Oblivious to Daffodils:  Haiku and Tanka of a Divergent Mind (Title IX Press, 2021), and she shared her fine work as a free download available at Title IX Press website.

Selected Haiku and Tanka:

field of daffodils

the anonymity

of belonging

the moon

three-quarter full

I reach

for a taste

of the missing sliver

jacaranda

in the distance

your mind

yet a purple dream

beyond my grasp

tiny crevices

on the concrete road

the small chances

with which I blossom

like a wildflower

Happy Reading

Chen-ou 

Poetic Musings: Diverging Lines Tanka by Jackie Chou

strolling together

on cracked sidewalk

the diverging lines

lead us to separate paths

though we say we are one

NeverEnding Story, September 14, 2021

Jackie Chou 

Commentary: Through the use of a walking metaphor (for a slower, more contemplative way of thinking about the relationship with the speaker's loved one), Jackie's tanka effectively builds, poetic phrase (ku)/ line by poetic phrase (ku)/ line, to a thematically significant and emotionally poignant ending that reveals the theme of "dialectical tensions" (exposed by these modifiers in Ls 1,3,4,5, "together, divergent, separate, and one[ness]") in a relationship.

And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following tanka:

two walking sticks

lean against

the trail head sign,

so many ways to fall

in love again

Second Place, 2017 Sanford Goldstein Tanka Contest 

Tom Clausen

One Man's Maple Moon: Diverging Lines Tanka by Jackie Chou

English Original

strolling together

on cracked sidewalk

the diverging lines

lead us to separate paths

though we say we are one

Jackie Chou 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一起散步

在破裂的人行道上

這些不同的裂縫

引導我們走向分離的道路

雖然我們硬說是一體不分的

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一起散步

在破裂的人行道上

这些不同的裂缝

引导我们走向分离的道路

虽然我们硬说是一体不分的

Bio Sketch

Jackie Chou is a poet residing in sunny Southern California.  She sometimes gets her inspirations from common city birds and flowers.  Her works have been published in Atlas Poetica, Skylark, Ribbons, the cherita journal, moonbathing, ephemerae, and others.