Carpe Diem Special #133, Fuyuko Tomita’s “how lonely”

Hello everyone!   This is Paloma, and I am helping Chèvrefeuille this weekend while he enjoys some “R&R” with his family.  While it’s a huge honor to help out – it’s also a bit intimidating.  I feel a bit like the ten-year-old girl who’s been invited to anchor the 6 o’clock news.  [Smiles.] 

So before we get started, let’s send a big *thank you* to Chèvrefeuille for what he does for us on a daily basis. 

For today, we return to our featured poet, Fuyuko Tomita. Here is a wonderful tanka I think we can all relate to:

さんさんとそそぐ朝日の文机に遺す未完の歌ぞ淋しき

Sansan to/ sosogu asahi no/fuzukue ni/ nokosu mikan no/ uta zo samishiki

How lonely I would be
left behind on my desk
an unfinished poem
in the glorious morning sun  

© Fuyuko Tomita

(Note that the Japanese version is in five lines – but – as she explained to Chèvrefeuille in a separate post – the English version is slightly different.  She is translating her poem so as to keep the spirit of the original, more so than the structure of the original.)

 

Lesser Ury. Woman at Writing Desk, 1898. WikiArt

Here’s my response:

at the bird feeder
three cardinals are squabbling –
a love triangle?

the poem that nudges my ribs 

is fading with the laundry

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What about you?  Has an unfinished poem haunted you throughout your day?   What thoughts come to mind when you read "how lonely"? 

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This episode is open for your submissions from February 19^th, 7 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 22nd, at noon (CET).