Continuously from last month, I translated this verse from Haiku Harvest Vol. 5, No. 1 - Fall & Winter 2005.
challenging to express a culture-background scene in EL again.
The author is Cristian Mocanu of Romania; this poem is among five line haiku called Cinqku..
which I had not heard of before. Mr. Cristian kindly explained about Cinqku in his email;
also with a wonderful tanka for me! I put the information and his tanka below.
I tried to translate his cinqku into Japanese in the Tanka rhythm.
Christianity is not in my tradition, but I can imagine how the author feels
in their tradition and environment very well through this verse.
先月に引きつづき、 俳句・ハーベストから再び地域文化の色濃い作品を採りあげます。
前回のインドの瞬間とはうってかわって、これはいかにもルーマニアの秋の光景をしのばせる
Cristian MocanuさんのCinqku(5行俳句)という形式の作品です。
不勉強にてCinqkuは初耳ですが、日本語では短歌にあてていいかなぁと、試訳しました。
著者からCinqkuについての説明と、地球語のためのすてきな短歌もお贈りいただいたので、それらも下に載せました。
Information about Tanka, Cinquain and Cinqku sent by Cristian Mocanu:
In the early 20-th century, Adelaide Crapsey (1878-1914), an American poet, developed a form she called cinquain. Since this form has striking similarities to tanka, many claim that she devised it under Japanese influence, but, as all her cinquains-28 in all-were published posthumously, no proof was found in support of this claim. Many English speaking poets have since used this form (sometimes also known as "American cinquain"): 5 verses with a syllable structure: 2, 4, 6, 8, 2; no rhyme but (unlike tanka) titled.
In this year 2005, Mr. Dennis Garrison thought of a fusion between cinquain and haiku, and developed a form he called cinqku. Its syllable structure is: 2, 3, 4, 6, 2. Like haiku, it is untitled and it should have a kireji and a slightly humorous note. A lot of poets have started to write cinqkus since, but it's still the newest poetry form there is.
(* Mr. Dennis Garrison is the editor of Haiku Harvest site where this Cristian's original cinqku is)
Tanka written for Yoshiko by Mr. Cristian Mocanu:the improvised bridge-
many cross it, to and fro,
o’er swollen waters.
even sitting at your desk
you can span the seven seas..... Cristian, thank you very much for encouraging me.
I hope EL will beautifully work like this in the near future. Yoshiko