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December 8, 2016

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Photography, Poetry

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Frosted Tankas

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crimson leaves
sparkling, jeweled gowns
for the Fairy Ball

blue jays and cardinals hoot
like suspicious doormen

ice crystals cut light
into blinding starshine,
confusion magic

Old Man Winter stirs the firs
birds on wires sing glissando

Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham

Notes: Glissando is music that slides up or down between two notes. Autumn is like that, too, sliding between warm and cold, with frost forming in the in-between. The poetry form is two tankas. A tanka has five lines, with a maximum number of syllables per line of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7. Any number of tanka can be linked, sometimes written by one poet, sometimes by several poets. Another way of looking at it is that haiku alternate with two-line couplets, into infinity. If anyone wants to leave a haiku, a two-line couplet or a full tanka in the comments, feel free to continue the song.

Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks to Jone at Check it Out for hosting!! Click here to read about Poetry Friday — origins and shenanigans.

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68 thoughts on “Frosted Tankas”

    • Thanks, Kiesha! What a boost for my flagging energy. I baked so many sugar cookies today I feel like I gained weight without eating a single one. Tomorrow I have to frost them all! Woo-hoo! I hope you’ll share some haiku with us. XOXO

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  11. We had ice crystals on the windows yesterday, and all is gone with the sunny day today–glissando! It’s lovely to see and then read the beauty you captured.

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  12. The photo is gorgeous and really matches the tankas. Thank you for expanding the definition for me. It’s easier to think of two haiku and a couplet. I’m with Tabatha- love “Old Man Winter stirs the firs.”

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  13. The photo is gorgeous and really matches the tankas. Thank you for expanding the definition for me. It’ easier to think of two haiku and a couplet. I’m with Tabatha- love “Old Man Winter stirs the firs.”

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  15. I love your photo and the idea of the leaves being part of a fairy gown. Please email me at macrush @ yahoo dot com. I realized that I need to have emails to get addresses to people for the poetry postcard exchange.

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  16. You’ve really outdone yourself with this one, Brenda. Just gorgeous — both poem and photograph!! And who doesn’t love the word “glissando”? Love those sparkling jeweled gowns for the Fairy Ball especially :).

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  17. Such paired beauty, both truly depict the blurred edge of autumn as it slips into winter! I found inspiration in your comment, “Another way of looking at it [tanka] is that haiku alternate with two-line couplets, into infinity.” I’m inspired, seeing this way works for young students — everyone contributing to a classroom “song” created out of their studies. A lovely way “to motivate, monitor, and record” learning.

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  25. Gorgeous poem, Brenda! It is totally a fairy’s gown fabric. I really should do a fairy gown on Art Gowns. Okay… I’m already working on the next gown (Greek Goddess), then I’m doing a cat gown for Ralph at Bluefish Way. The one after that is for you, fairies, and fairy tales.
    You are such an inspiration!

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