Tuesday, March 31, 2015

One Man's Maple Moon: Gravestone Tanka by Thelma Mariano

English Original

I scoop out
last year’s leaves from the hollow
behind her gravestone
all that remains
is the unending silence

Gusts,19, Spring/Summer 2014

Thelma Mariano


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

從她墓碑
後面的樹洞
我把去年葉子挖出來
所剩下的是
無止境的沉默

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

从她墓碑
後面的树洞
我把去年叶子挖出来
所剩下的是
无止境的沉默


Bio Sketch

Thelma Mariano won a number of international Tanka Splendor awards in the last 15 years and has published tanka in literary journals around the world. She lives in Montreal near the rapids of the St. Lawrence River, which often inspire her. She is also an author of contemporary women’s fiction.

1 comment:

  1. This heartfelt tanka is tightly structured with a deep emotional undercurrent: the upper verse establishes the thematic and emotional context while the lower verse enhances the tone and mood of the poem.

    At second reading, "hollow" and "silence" take on symbolic significance.

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