Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #96 Little Ones ... Sedoka

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday August 4th at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first weekend meditation of August 2019. This month our theme is "Field Of Flowers", but that's not the theme for this weekend meditation. For this weekend meditation I have chosen to challenge you to create an other kind of Japanese poetry ... Sedoka. I will explain what Sedoka is.

For this "special feature "Little Ones" I have created a new logo and maybe I will use this special feature more often here at CDHK, not only in the weekends, but maybe also as an extra feature on weekdays.

For this logo I have used a renown Japanese woodblock by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) and it's titled: Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave.

Maybe you can remember that special feature "Little Ones" that I used often here at CDHK, maybe if you are a long time member you will surely know that special feature.

Sedoka:

A Sedoka is an unrhymed poem composed of two katauta. A katauta has three lines with the syllable pattern 5-7-7 and is complete in itself and able to stand alone. A Sedoka therefore has the syllable count: 5-7-7, 5-7-7.

In order to be correct, each katauta must be able to be read independently, but also create a cohesive singular work in the Sedoka. Often a Sedoka will address the same subject from different perspectives.

An example:

dark clouds cloak the night;
chilly winds creak gnarled branches,
grasping as bony fingers.

disturbed raven squawks
at frightened children - screaming,
then laughing - they throw him treats

© James Dean Chase

Face In The Mirror (image found on viewbug) (image © beamiyoung)

Here is a Sedoka I wrote several years ago:

behind a veil of clouds
she hides her bright face
she ... the queen of night's sky

in the mirror she looks
at her once beautiful face
mother of two boys and girls

© Chèvrefeuille

I think it's a nice Japanese poetry form and next to haiku and tanka, I think Sedoka fits us all. Try it yourself.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday August 4th at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until August 11th at noon (CEST). Have a great weekend!