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发表于 2011-1-21 14:10:17
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"The teacher tells me with a smile/ 'Don't exert yourself'/ Inside me/ It changes to 'Go for it.'" This is a tanka poem by Saki Hisajima, a third-year female high school student from Hokkaido. "'Hang in there'/ The phrase on my back/ Sometimes feels like a burden/ Sometimes like wings." This one was composed by Mitsuha Kawai, a first-year female high school student from Tokyo.
Toyo University this year released the 24th version of "Gendai Gakusei Hyakunin Isshu" (Anthology of 100 poems by contemporary students). Students from across the nation entered slightly more than 60,000 poems in this year's event. If one's life can be viewed as a day, these students are now at dawn. The words in a tanka are traditionally called "misohito-moji" (literally 31 characters). But reading the words that describe fleeting youth made me want to call them something more modern: "thirty-one."
Friends in our youth teach us about life. "The breaking voice of an old friend/ Suddenly makes me realize/ We are going different ways" by Kohei Mitani, a third-year junior high school student. Sometimes, we look drab to ourselves. "The profile of a friend/ Who speaks of dreams/ Shines so brightly/ It feels distant/ Even though we are side by side" by Yukiko Fujishima, a third-year high school student.
While the themes of the 100 poems that were selected are diverse, many of them are about families. "Mother's eyes/ That watch father making noodles/ Are kind of warm" by Fumi Nakayama, a second-year high school student. "'Bring me that'/ 'Here you are'/ They understand each other without talking/ Ties of husband and wife of 25 years" by Chisato Sawada, a third-year high school student.
Be that as it may, the students are going through a rebellious phase. "Watching a beautiful summer sunset by myself/ Today, I think I can apologize to my mother" by Yuki Ishii, a first-year high school student. Some students express anxiety for their future. "As I hunt for jobs/ I find myself caught in the darkness of recession/ I drift in stormy waves in September" by Kengo Iwasaki, a third-year high school student.
But students also find happiness in sharing joys of life. "Getting a job offer/ I was in tears/ The first one I called/ Was dear grandmother" by Azusa Io, a third-year high school student. Elementary school children also entered their tanka. "Grandpa/ Unless you're careful/ I'm going to check your king/ No do-overs" by Yuna Fujiwara, a second-grader. It is warm like a sunny spot in winter. |
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