05/01/2013

If only my relation to the world
were always like this—
a few fishermen
rowing a small boat
up the river’s edge.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Although he was a shōgun, Minamoto no Sanetomo devoted most of his time to writing and to calligraphy. This poem is an example of one of his hundreds of tanka.

BIO:

Christian Bancroft received his MA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas, where he was the recipient of a Michener Fellowship. In 2011, he was the recipient of an honorarium from Notre Dame for his poetry translations. He now teaches at Austin Community College and at Trinity Episcopal School.
MORE POEMS:

04/18/2012
'Rain', Michael Bazzett


01/22/2010
'From the Greek Anthology', Christopher Bakken


02/19/2010
'the winter sky bleeds', Brooklyn Copeland