Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu:
snow whirls
outside the henhouse . . .
father cups
my hands around
a warm brown egg
3rd Place
2018 Fleeting Words Tanka Competition
Chen-ou Liu's Comments: (excerpted from commentary by judges Carole MacRury and Michael McClintock)
A sensory poem that takes us from whirling snow, straight into the warmth of a henhouse, the warmth of a father/child relationship, and the warmth of a freshly gathered brown egg. Debbie Strange's use of "cups" gives a wonderful tactile sense and understanding to this moment's magical combination of both fragility and solidness—of the brown egg, and of the love palpably felt between father and child. All is fused in one powerful image. That is quite a feat. The winter metaphor in the first line could also allude to the day when the child will draw sustenance from this warm memory long after the father is gone.
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