long beyond fledgling
one fall after another
from an empty nest
sometimes, ties need severing
a parent takes wing alone
Tanka
everything is gray ~ tanka, kyoka, gogyohka
The prompt for MTB: 5-Line Japanese Poetic Forms from Frank at dVerse Poets Pub is to write a tanka, kyoka, or gogyohka. Frank discusses each of the forms. I’ve tried to cover all three, in order. This series was a hard one to write.
bird with broken wing
beneath broken cedar branch
saved by helping hands
must be returned to the wild
before wild nature returns
broken clouds
in coming storm
offer hope
only an illusion
everything is gray
a soul is troubled
looking for escape
safe haven offered
troubles multiply
everyone suffers
Image source: Wikimedia Commons (edited here)
sun rising due east ~ tanka
sun rising due east
greeting vernal equinox
waiting for first buds
their color a welcome sign
end of endless tones of gray
This tanka is my response to Carpe Diem
Tanka Splendor 2020: Vernal Equinox.
Photo by Amanda Frank on Unsplash
spring warbler spreads wings ~ tanka
spring warbler spreads wings
leaves droppings while taking flight
spoiled rice cake remains
cat walks across veranda
hungry for departed bird
Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #110 Carpe Diem Transformation …. Bush Warbler
offers a haiku by Bashō (below, in blue) to be transformed
into a tanka. In a process different from tan renga,
I have revised the original haiku before
adding two lines to create my tanka.
A spring warbler casts
A dropping on the rice cakes –
The veranda edge.
Image source: ukiyo-e.org – Warbler on Red Plum Branch
waiting for a break in clouds ~ tan renga
Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday – White Crane asks us to use
a haiku by Kikaku (in blue) to create a tanka.
how I wish to call
a white crane from Fukei,
but for this cold rain.
Kikaku
waiting for a break in clouds
to deliver good fortune
A crane is said to symbolize good fortune, balance, and happiness.
Image source: ukiyo-e.org – Crane and Waves, by Baiso
(right click image for larger view in new tab)
unexpected gift ~ tanka
Carpe Diem #1775 Morning Glory! is part of a new feature,
“Carpe Diem’s Transformation,” which has the goal of using the scenes and images
of a given haiku to create a transformed haiku into a tanka.
Another feature of Carpe Diem is to create a Tan Renga, a short exercise that adds two lines to a given haiku to create a tanka. Making a distinction, I have interpreted this new prompt
to be a challenge to first transform a given haiku by re-creating it
before adding two lines to make it a tanka.
The haiku provided (in blue) is by Chiyo-Ni, and my tanka follows.
morning glory!
the well bucket-entangled,
I ask for water
Chiyo-Ni
unexpected gift
morning glory filled with water
refreshing my thirst
accepted as good omen
a fresh start to my travels
Image source: morguefile.com / rollingroscoe
rustling in forest ~ tanka
rustling in forest
leaves whisper in ancient tongue
known in any age
swirls rising from forest floor
speak of autumn’s arrival
This tanka is my response to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge #273,
where the prompt words are forest and whisper.
Image source: unsplash.com / Autumn Mott Rodeheaver
take wing, our secrets ~ tanka
take wing, our secrets
living on with you, revealed
when the time is right
seeds to inform the future
of all that may be again
This tanka is inspired by a comment left by Kerfe on my nonet, Lone Vigil, and is
my second response to Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday
#Poetry Challenge No. 145 #PhotoPrompt, with the provided photo
from Pixabay/Susan Cipriano.
fireworks at midnight ~ tanka
fireworks at midnight
pop and crackle of thunder
wet grass in morning
a break in temperature
a cardinal’s morning call
I woke shortly after midnight to the rapid sound sound of thunder
that could have passed for The 1812 Overture.
This tanka pretty much wrote itself.
oppressive, still air ~ tanka
oppressive, still air
far distant rolling thunder
as birds fall silent
rain that does not want to fall
no relief from summer heat
This tanka may reflect conditions of late August, but it’s a response to
Tanka Splendor #25 Summer Heat, a prompt from mid-July that I missed while traveling.
Image source: morguefile.com
