Carpe Diem Universal Jane #2 the moon rises each night (tanka)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What an awesome response I got on the first episode of "Universal Jane" ... thank you all for participating in this new special feature especially created to honor Jane Reichhold who passed away in the age of 79 last July.

Jane's spirit is dwelling here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, she was part of our haiku family and we all have good memories of her. She deserves to be honored here and that's the "heart" of this special feature.

This week I love to inspire you with a few tanka written by Jane. She really was the queen of haiku, but she also was a great and gifted tanka poetess. I just recently discovered the beauty of her tanka as I was "surfing" through her own website AHA-Poetry. From her website I also took the subtitle of our next month in which we will discover the beauty of tanka together with Teika (1162-1241) and Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) ... that subtitle is "Tanka Splendor".

Rising Moon

too old for new love
the moon rises each night
as I remember
the backseats of strange cars
it's helpful light afterwards

© Jane Reichhold

A beautiful tanka in which we find the beauty of the rising moon, but also the beauty of discovering sexuality as teenagers. Maybe you can remember having the first kiss in a car, or the first time having sex on the backseat of a car. In this tanka you can find that strong romantic atmosphere.

Paper Boat

your letter
left me at sea to know
where we are going
puzzled the paper folded
a boat set adrift

© Jane Reichhold

In this tanka you can find the reason why tanka was created out of waka. Waka were poems in which the poets hide love letters. In this above tanka you can read the hidden love letter, but in another way you can find the sadness of breaking up with the one you love. That's tanka ... strong poems full of emotions.

Daffodils

your sleeping breath
night rain revives the earth
waves of sea air
in bright yellow daffodils
nod to the dark wind

© Jane Reichhold

I am starting to fall in love with these beautiful tanka by Jane Reichhold, she really was a great and gifted tanka poetess. I remember that we had a few "Ask Jane ..." episodes about tanka and maybe I can make those "tanka"-episodes into one episode for next month.

Jane once said to me "You have to start writing tanka, because I sense that you are a very sensitive man and tanka can give you the opportunity to use that sensitivity. I think you will be a great tanka poet". As you all know I am not a tanka poet, but I recently was caught by the beauty of the tanka and so I create more tanka these days.
To create tanka ... it takes time ... so I just dived into my archives and found a few beauties to share with you:

dancing naked
in the light of the blue moon
she cleanses me
her warmth cherishes my body
the sweet scent of Honeysuckle

© Chèvrefeuille

in muddy waters

after the rainstorm
reflections of blue sky and clouds
in muddy waters
raindrops - rhythmic art of nature
in the pond circles fade

© Chèvrefeuille

And a last which I recently shared in one of the CD-Specials last month:

a last leaf
fights with the fall storm
its color fades
struggling against the wind
it surrenders

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode of Universal Jane is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until October 16th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, the second CD Special by our 3rd guest Herman van Rompuy, later on. For now ... have fun!