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.
Love it. 🙂
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Thanks!
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The gown reference is perfect with jeweled edges, Brenda. I like the over-used word of crystalline. Your use of glissando was perfect!
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So many of the words that refer to autumn are beautiful in themselves. After years of writing these posts, it’s getting harder to take a fresh look at things, though. 🙂
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I want a gown made from frosted leaves!! 🙂
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Me, too!
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Love the photo, and the poetry makes me feel like I’m experiencing the scene with you.
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Thanks, Matt.
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Nice post, Brenda. The frost photo is breath-taking.
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I used your “suspicious doorman” for this tanka:
doorman
eyes the passersby
frosted panes
soften his suspicion
or just my view of him?
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Nice, Diane. I love your frosted panes.
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Thanks, Diane. The azalea bush was amazing in the morning light.
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What a gorgeous photo and word image. glissando….is a unique and perfect end. Lovely.
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Thanks, Linda. I’m glad you like the word. In haiku, the challenge to pick the right word is intense.
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Oooh! I saw your image on twitter and it stopped be in my tracks. Now your words just took my breath away! With all these haiku poems racing across my screen, I might have to join in the marathon! Thanks, Brenda.
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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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Gorgeous — both pictures and words!
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Thanks, Mary Lee.
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D’uh…macrush53 @ yahoo dot com
I forgot the 53
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Lol Did you get my second email, then?
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I am loving the icy, frosted touch, Brenda. Autumn is leaving the fairy forest with jewels for its crown.
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Yes, the natural world sure knows all about adornment.
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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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Yes, the whole season is a lovely glissando. 🙂
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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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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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Thanks, Joyce! I appreciate your words and your stopping by.
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Brenda, autumn IS glissando, isn’t it? (I didn’t know that term – thanks.) Lovely! And that photo! Gorgeous. Happy Poetry Friday!
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Thanks, Irene. Happy Poetry Friday to you, too! Woo-hoo, a whole day of beautiful words.
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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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Sorry but your email address didn’t work, despite my taking out the spaces and putting a dot. Do you have another?
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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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Thanks, Jama! Doesn’t glissando sound like dancing?
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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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The Japanese would write that way, trading back and forth different sections, each trying to add a new surprise or point of view or observation. It’s fun. I think kids would eat it up.
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Gorgeous photo! I like “Old Man Winter stirs the firs.” I wonder what the squirrels are doing?
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Thank you! You could add a haiku or tanka about squirrels if you are so moved. 🙂
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fascinating, splendid, golden words..
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Thank you!
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Beautiful. Glissando and autumn are a perfect mix.
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Thank you!
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they look like lovely sugared candies
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Yum, yes!
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Magical like you sweet Brenda! Merry Christmas season to you! Big hugs xoxo
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Thanks, MM! Happy Holidays to you and BB!! XOXO
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Hooray we are almost to the new year! WOOHOO!
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Ahhh! Don’t scare me like that! I haven’t even gotten all my presents in hand yet!
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Awe you still have plenty of time. I always work ahead and I’m already on Jan issues so it’s funny when Christmas finally gets here. 🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼xoxo
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We have a tree up. It’s starting to feel like Christmas! XOXO
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Awe yay for that. I know it’s hard to get everything done. A mom’s job is never done. XOXO
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The kids have started to be very useful at helping. I hope your back is standing up to the season. Or you are taking it easy this year.
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Thanks for defining “glissando” for me. Love learning new words, especially about music. Beautiful crimson leaves.
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Thanks, Margaret. Glissando is a world that rose out of my subconscious and wouldn’t go away. In the end, it became the reason, if that makes sense.
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Such wonderful enchantments. 🌹
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Thank you!
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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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Woo-hoo, a gown for me! I am so excited! And people love fairy stuff. If you do one, you should submit it to Faerie magazine with an article about your work. 🙂
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Are you going? Or is the ball only for faeries? Love this! And the image! You are sooooo talented!
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Thanks, Claudia. Me in a ballgown? Hmm… 🙂
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Heh…me too…
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Frosty Delights!!
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Thanks, Willow!
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🙂 my pleasure!
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Wonderful…I just love that Glissando ❤ Yes they certainly do sing and twitter and chortle up and down the musical scale 🙂
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Thanks, Morgan. Glad you liked my glissando. Haiku language is supposed to be fairly uncomplicated, but glissando is just such a cool musical concept. I had to use it. 🙂
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I love throwing words into the mix that I have to look up first lol 🙂 Thanks for teaching me a new one!
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We need to hold onto our language, especially the rare words that hide in the backs of our minds. 🙂
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Indeed so!
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