time-brewed
birch bark-scented
wisdom
wait
listen
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: This is stripped-down poetry, boiled down to basics. Eight words in five lines, arranged in a tanka. At dinner, my children asked me to define philosophy. I responded that it’s a search for meaning. The dictionary defines it as the pursuit of wisdom or an understanding of values and reality. Philosophy is writing tanka.
Happy Poetry Friday and thanks to Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading for hosting!
33 thoughts on “Inner Philosophy”
Comments welcome!
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Friendly Fairy Tales 
I always find myself closest to wisdom when soaked in nature.
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Me, too. Nature always gives me symbols for wisdom, if I just stop and notice.
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Sounds like you have interesting dinner table conversations! Philosophy is a great pursuit — the most foundational thing there is, right? Certainly the foundation for poetry and the other arts, but also history and (the uses of) science.
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Yes, philosophy set us all on the path toward shared learning and shared thought.
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Your poem may be stripped down in words, but it resonates in meaning. Well done!
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Thanks, Kay.
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I can smell the birch bark. Here’s hoping for the wisdom it imparts. Thanks.
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Still hoping for wisdom here, too.
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I’ve never heard of the Elm Bank Reservation! I foresee a field trip in the near future. Thanks, my friend!
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It’s worth a visit. And it’s near Broadmoor Nature Sanctuary. Both awesome. If you’re headed there, maybe we could meet up.
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Beautiful tanka, Brenda! I like how the short lines and word choice slow everything down and embrace the process of learning, living, being. Wait and listen are the perfect final words. Ahhhhh…
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Thanks, Molly. I need these reminders now and then. 🙂
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I really like this tanka and how it came to be written. Well done.
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Thanks, Jone.
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It’s an awesome piece for reflection, Brenda. Wow, that tanka shows the soul you see.
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Thanks, Linda. Soul is a good way of putting it. 🙂
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One of the reasons I like poetry is because it is a distilled, condensed form of observation and introspection – and your tanka is a great example!
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Thanks, Matt.
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I really like your poem, but I love the explanation of philosophy! Creative endeavors are a search for meaning and clearly yours is very peaceful.
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Peaceful, yes. I’m striving for peaceful and patient. So often I feel the opposite. 🙂
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birch bark scented and listen are so perfect. Love this.
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Thanks, Linda. Isn’t “listen” a great word? Like fasten, it’s a connector.
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That is really good and the trunk of the tree is really well carved.
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Yes, the artist did a wonderful job. It’s well placed in the garden.
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What an image! And a definite YES to “philosophy is writing tanka.”
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Thanks, Mary Lee. Thanks for hosting!
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philosophy means trying to understand the world and how you approach it in my head. i like your definition too
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I love that you have your own working definition, too. Any student of irony would. 🙂
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What a strong poem Brenda and intriguing image–I like the “wait” and “listen” at the end–good to do more of this too! Fill me in on that birch bark image. Interesting discussion with your children and I’d take your boiled down definition of philosophy, thanks!
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The photograph was taken at Elm Bank Reservation in the Children’s Garden. I’d love to know more about the carving, too, but I’m not sure who the artist is. https://www.mass.gov/locations/elm-bank-reservation
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Reblogged this on Ace Friends & Bloggers News.
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Incredible and powerful image, Brenda! I like your definition of philosophy.
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It’s a work in progress. 🙂
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