One Man's Maple Moon: Flesh Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

the flesh clings

tighter still

as if to tell me

this world is smell,

is touch

At the Hut of the Small Mind, 1992

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

肉體

仍然緊貼在一起

彷彿在告訴我

這個世界充滿氣味,

一切都是關於觸摸

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

肉体

仍然紧贴在一起

仿佛在告诉我

这个世界充满气味,

一切都是关于触摸

Bio Sketch

Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English. 

Poetic Musings: Chains of Connection Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

almost broken,

broken,

chains of connection,

some having died,

some corridor silent

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein

Commentary: Goldstein's heartfelt tanka effectively builds, line/poetic phrase (ku) by line/poetic phrase (ku), to a thematically significant and multi-sensorily poignant ending that reveals the theme of the experience of/response to (L5) multiple gradual losses (human lives in L4 and connections in Ls 1-3). And his use of repetition is effective, adding emotional weight and psychological depth to the tanka.

One Man's Maple Moon: Gray Gutter Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

again

an all-night

insomnia

the world turns

into a gray gutter

Simply Haiku, 6:4, Winter 2008

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

再次

一個通宵

的失眠

世界翻轉

成為灰色的陰溝

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

再次

一个通宵

的失眠

世界翻转

成为灰色的阴沟

Bio Sketch

Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Chains of Connection Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

almost broken,

broken,

chains of connection,

some having died,

some corridor silent

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

幾乎斷裂了,

已經斷裂了,

這些人際關係鏈,

有些人已經過世,

某條走廊寂靜無聲

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

几乎断裂了,

已经断裂了,

这些人际关系链,

有些人已经过世,

某条走廊寂静无声

Bio Sketch

Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English. 

Poetic Musings: Lonely Maneuver Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

I spit

on tonight’s lonely

maneuver,

I floss,

I scribble poems

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Commentary: Written in a traditional style of "Onihishigitei (demon-quelling force, characterized by its “strong or even vulgar diction" (Japanese Court Poetry, p. 406),  Sanford's "I tanka" effectively depicts its speaker's character through a well-chosen set of verbs ("spit," "floss," and "scribble) with a [lonely] performative act, "maneuver," in the central line.

And it might be interesting to do a comparative reading of my "loneliness tanka" below :

at midnight

my thoughts and hand moving

across the page:

I tanka-barricade

the door to loneliness

Skylark, 3:2, Winter 2015

FYI: For more information about Onihishigitei, see my "To the Lighthouse" post, "Onihishigitei, Style of Demon-Quelling Force"

Reference:

Brower, Robert and Miner, Earl, Japanese Court Poetry, Stanford University Press, 1988, p. 406), 

One Man's Maple Moon: Morning Light-Fall Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

it was roosters

at morning light-fall --

how joyous

even that crack

diagonal

At the Hut of the Small Mind, 1992

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

晨曦初現時

是公雞在啼叫 --

多麼快樂啊

即使牆上的那條裂縫

是對角線那麼長

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

晨曦初现时

是公鸡在啼叫 --

多么快乐啊

即使墙上的那条裂缝

是对角线那么长

Bio Sketch

Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Life's Page Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

half a tanka

will probably suffice

to say

this blur on life's page

is ready for erasure

Poetry That Heals, 2018

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

半首短歌

可能就已足夠

訴說了

生命這一頁上的模糊之處

已準備好被擦除乾淨

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

半首短歌

可能就已足够

诉说了

生命这一页上的模糊之处

已准备好被擦除干净

Bio Sketch

Long ago, Sanford Goldstein wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in two years, have each said this would be his last. The Tanka Society of America renamed its international tanka contest for him in 2015; and he has been called the grandfather of tanka in English. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Past Griefs Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

again

this catalogue

of past griefs

and I keep washing

the same dish

This Tanka World, 1977

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

再一次

想起這個過去的悲傷

明細目錄

我一直在清洗

相同的餐盤

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

再一次

想起这个过去的悲伤

明细目录

我一直在清洗

相同的餐盘

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has published tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and passed away in May 2023. Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Waitress Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

startled

to find chocolate

with my coffee,

and the waitress

fills my cup again

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

感到驚訝

找到巧克力

放到我的咖啡裡，

並且女服務員

再次倒滿我的杯子

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

感到惊讶

找到巧克力

放到我的咖啡里，

并且女服务员

再次倒满我的杯子

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 96 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Zen Meeting Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

how neat

the straw slippers

at the Zen meeting,

they speak

the wordless

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

草編拖鞋

多麼整齊地擺放

在禪宗會議入口處，

他們訴說

無言的修行

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

草编拖鞋

多么整齐地摆放

在禅宗会议入口处，

他们诉说

无言的修行

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 96 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

Poetic Musings: Bowls of Rice Tanka

my son heaps

bowl on bowl

with rice,

head down

he devours the world

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein

Commentary: Within such a short space of 14 words and 15 syllables, Sanford's "portrait tanka" about the speaker's adolescent son effectively builds, line by line with emotional and visual intensity, to a thematically significant ending: through eating bowls of rice (Ls 1-3) with his head down (L4) without uttering any words, the speaker's son devours the world of this hunger for something more desirable, his silent anger, and everything he suppresses or resents. And the concluding phrase, "the world," is layered with multiple meanings, taking on a metaphorical meaning functioning like a Husserlian lifeworld (German: Lebenswelt). 

What's left unsaid is at least as potent as what's said. This middle-of-the-story portrait tanka reminds me of the following remark by Erik  Erikson, a German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings, and for coining the phrase "identity crisis."

Adolescents need freedom to choose, but not so much freedom that they cannot, in fact, make a choice.

Note: This tanka is paired with the following one included in the first section of This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka :

how short

my son’s

miss you,

at the close of

today’s letter

For more about Sanford Goldstein's minimalist tanka, see A Poet's Roving Thoughts: Review of This Short Life by Jenny Ward Angyal 

Poetic Musings: Fall Universe Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

cramming 

a fall universe 

into five lines down, 

pen in hand, 

the seaside bench hard 

This Shot Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Commentary: To cram a universe into five lines, to push to the very edge of what the form can do, the poet must be willing to spill thousands of tanka. Those of us among his readers who also attempt to write— those of us who tend to think “Oh, I already wrote about that,” and then stop— we might learn something from Goldstein’s willingness to return to the same themes, the same images, even the same words, in multiple poems...

-- excerpted from A Poet's Roving Thoughts: Review of This Short Life by Jenny Ward Angyal

FYI: Confronting uncertainty through and beyond the crisis of Covid-19, I attempted to quarantine this world of masked faces into five lines:

One Hundred Sixty-Seventh Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

quarantining

this world of masked faces

into five lines ...

I throw a stone of words

across the river of no return

NeverEnding Story, January 3 2021

One Man's Maple Moon: Lopsided Heart Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

my kid 

carrying it 

home, 

her lopsided 

heart

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我的孩子

带着它

回到家，

她的不平衡

心臟圖像

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我的孩子

带着它

回到家，

她的不平衡

心脏图像

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 96 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Pine Needles Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

looking

at pine needles

on the walk home,

I find they too

turn brown

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

凝視

在回家路上

的松針，

我發現他們

也變成棕色

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

凝视

在回家路上

的松针，

我发现他们

也变成棕色

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 96 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Lonely Maneuver Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

I spit

on tonight’s lonely

maneuver,

I floss,

I scribble poems

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我唾棄

今晚的寂寞

表演，

我用牙線剔牙

我塗寫幾首詩

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我唾弃

今晚的寂寞

表演，

我用牙线剔牙

我涂写几首诗

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Fall Universe Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

cramming

a fall universe

into five lines down

pen in hand

the seaside bench hard

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein 


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

秋季的天地

塞滿寫進

五行詩中

一筆在手

坐在海邊硬板凳上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

秋季的天地

塞满写进

五行诗中

一笔在手

坐在海边硬板凳上

Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Sullen Griefs Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

how can I tell
my permanent sullen griefs
even to these walls?
not once have I tried
confessing them to myself

American Tanka, 23, 2014

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

甚至面對這些牆壁
我如何訴說
這些恆常的憂傷？
我一次都沒有嘗試過
向我自己坦白

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

甚至面对这些墙壁
我如何诉说
这些恒常的忧伤？
我一次都没有尝试过
向我自己坦白


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Hut Door Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

urinating
from my hut door
I too join
this rain
on green leaf

Four Decades of My Tanka Road, 2010

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

站在小屋門口
小便
我也加入
雨滴
噴灑在綠葉上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

站在小屋门口
小便
我也加入
雨滴
喷洒在绿叶上


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Bowls of Rice Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

my son heaps
bowl on bowl
with rice,
head down
he devours the world

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我的兒子
堆放一碗米飯
在另一碗上
然後低下頭
他吞噬了整個世界

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

我的儿子
堆放一碗米饭
在另一碗上
然后低下头
他吞噬了整个世界


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.

One Man's Maple Moon: Cloth-Covered Face Tanka by Sanford Goldstein

English Original

sudden
as rain,
as desire,
I see her
cloth-covered face

This Short Life: Minimalist Tanka, 2014

Sanford Goldstein


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

突然地
如同暴雨，
如同激增的慾望，
我看見了她
的棉布遮掩的臉

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

突然地
如同暴雨，
如同激增的欲望，
我看见了她
的棉布遮掩的脸


Bio Sketch

Sanford Goldstein has been publishing tanka for more than fifty years.  He was born in 1925 and is now 95 years old.  Long ago, he wrote haiku, but decided to focus on tanka. His latest books, three in the last two years, have each said this would be his last.