Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new episode of our Tanka Splendor month. This will not be a very long post, because of lack of time, but I hope to inspire you with this episode bush clover. As I was preparing this episode I immediately thought of a haiku by Basho:
in one house
prostitutes lie down to sleep
bush clover and the moon
© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)
bush clover and the moon
© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)
This haiku you will remember I think, because it's from Basho's "Narrow Road Into The Deep North" his most famous haibun which we have read together here at Carpe Diem.
Here is a quote by Basho about the bush clover:
“The loneliness Of autumn on the beach More even than that of Suma In the surf Mingled with small shells Petals of the bush clover” (Matsuo Basho; The Narrow Road Into the Deep North)
The delicate, flowering bush clover has been a favorite motif with Japanese poets since time immemorial. Small pink flowers are borne at the end of arching stems and mix attractively with dainty leaves. It is a vigorous, deciduous shrub of the pea family, and several wild species can be found growing on damp hills and moors. There is a white-flowered variety, but the parti-colored pink types are more common. In the 10th century, no aristocratic villa would have been complete without the modest bush clover, blooming in a dew-drenched garden. Today, there is still a corner in our hearts and small gardens for this charming autumn bush.
The delicate, flowering bush clover has been a favorite motif with Japanese poets since time immemorial. Small pink flowers are borne at the end of arching stems and mix attractively with dainty leaves. It is a vigorous, deciduous shrub of the pea family, and several wild species can be found growing on damp hills and moors. There is a white-flowered variety, but the parti-colored pink types are more common. In the 10th century, no aristocratic villa would have been complete without the modest bush clover, blooming in a dew-drenched garden. Today, there is still a corner in our hearts and small gardens for this charming autumn bush.
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| Japanese Bush Clover |
The bush clover is one of the seven sacred herbs of autumn which we also have seen here at CDHK. So we are all a bit familiar with this fragile beauty.
To write a tanka with this prompt ... will not be that easy I think, but I had to try it of course:
bush clover spreads
my garden becomes a purple sea -
autumn dew shimmers
my garden becomes a purple sea -
autumn dew shimmers
I wash the feet of my love
with the fragility of the dawn
© Chèvrefeuille
And now it is up to you ... This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 19th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, the sixth Tanka Writing Technique by Teika, later on. For now ... have fun!
!! Tomorrow night, November 15th 10.00 PM (CET), our Winter Retreat will start !!
!! I am behind with commenting I hope to catch up a.s.a.p. !!
© Chèvrefeuille
And now it is up to you ... This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 19th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, the sixth Tanka Writing Technique by Teika, later on. For now ... have fun!
!! Tomorrow night, November 15th 10.00 PM (CET), our Winter Retreat will start !!
!! I am behind with commenting I hope to catch up a.s.a.p. !!
This tanka of yours is a gem, Chèvrefeuille!
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