Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
On the Northern Hemisphere it’s autumn, in my opinion the most beautiful season of the year, leaves are coloring, rain and wind very often. I love how the fallen leaves are dancing through the street.
This week’s challenge create a tanka about autumn and leaves dancing. Try to bring love into it also, because Tanka was once a love-poem. Enjoy this challenge!
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new episode of Tanka Splendor (part of the CDHK Family), sorry for being late with this new episode, but there were a few circumstances that took my time.
Autumn is almost running halfway so maybe you thought that I would create a challenge with an autumn theme, but no … it’s a summer theme.
This week’s task is to create a so called cascading haiku. What is a cascading haiku? Let me give you an example:
hopeful new day
available in yellowish
a great sunflower
a great sunflower
desirable to bright sunlight
bows its head to earth
bows its head to earth
a possible new flower opens
promising dreams
© Chèvrefeuille
A cascading haiku is built from at least two haiku, because you have to use the last sentence as the first sentence of the second verse. Look at the above cascade. The last sentence of the first haiku “a great sunflower” is the first sentence of the second haiku. The third line of that 2nd haiku, “bows its head to earth”, is the first line of the third haiku. This is like a wave, like a cascading river.
Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh
This week’s task … create a cascading haiku themed “sunflower”. Create your cascading haiku and share it with us all through linking to the linking widget. Have fun!
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new Tanka Splendor here at our WP blog Tanka Splendor (also part of the CDHK Family). This month we are celebrating the 6th anniversary of our homepage “Carpe Diem Haiku Kai”. Back in 2012 I started Carpe Diem Haiku Kai to challenge you to create haiku and tanka on a daily base. During the last 6 years our CDHK Family has grown and today I love to challenge you here at Tanka Splendor to create tanka inspired on “blossom” haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), one of the greatest haiku poets ever.
Here are a few “blossom” haiku by him:
how many, many things
they call to mind
these cherry-blossoms!
Haiku weaves vivid images, and cherry blossom themed poems have an element of contemplation and bittersweetness that is compelling. The sight of blossoms, so exquisite and so evanescent, is a reminder of the transience of things, and while it can be melancholy, it’s also reassuring. Everything passes–and then returns.
temple bells die out.
the fragrant blossoms remain.
a perfect evening!
In a sense, poetry is closest to perfume, because the interpretation of the message concealed in words as in aromas are left to the beholder.
very brief –
gleam of blossoms in the treetops
on a moonlit night.
© Matsuo Basho
Well … do you think you can create tanka inspired on these beautiful haiku by the master? I am looking forward to your responses.
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at Tanka Splendor, another part of the CDHK community. Let me (re)tell you the goal of Tanka Splendor. Tanka is a five-lined poem that originated from the Waka, an ancient Japanese poem, and became renown through Jane Reichhold (1937-2018). Jane was one of the greatest haiku and tanka poets modern times has seen.
Here at Tanka Splendor, Chèvrefeuille (host and owner of https://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com) challenges his visitors to create a Tanka on a given theme. For this restarting the engines post he loves to challenge you to create a tanka (or kyoka, the more humourful form of Tanka) on the following theme:
autumn leaves
Autumn Leaves (Image found on Pinterest)
A nice theme I would say. So I am looking forward to all your responses. Add your link to the widget here below:
Dear friends,
This WP blog will be closed for a while. I don’t have time at the moment to keep it going. For those who love Japanese poetry … you are invited to visit Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
Namasté,
Chèvrefeuille
Dear friends,
Welcome at a new episode of CD’s Tanka Splendor. It has been a while that I tried to challenge you here. So for this episode I have chosen to use the same theme “departure” as is / was the theme of Carpe Diem’s Autumn Retreat 2017.
Try to create a tanka themed DEPARTURE, it can be relating to autumn, but you can also use other explanations of departure e.g.
leaving home
to find the path of wisdom
I enter the train-station
just one look over my shoulder
to return after I find the truth
(c) Chèvrefeuille
And now .. it’s your turn. Have fun!
Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new Tanka Splendor, our special feature here at WP’s part of our Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Family. Spring is running towards its end and it is almost summer. For this Tanka Splendor I have chosen a nice theme “summertime”. The goal is to create a tanka themed summertime.
An example:
after a hot day
the deserted beach cools down
rain falls gently
boats of fishermen appear
the night belongs to them
© Chèvrefeuille
And now it is up to you to create a Tanka. A Tanka is a five-lined Japanese poem following the syllables-count 5-7-5-7-7, but as you maybe know you don’t need to follow that syllables-count.
Enjoy …!
You can respond until next Saturday May 27th 10:00 PM (CET)
