Tanka: The Little Song and My Journey

 

Historical Perspective

It is believed according to Japanese mythology, that the goddess Wakahime ('Poetry Princess') sang over the body of her dead husband and thereby invented tanka. The oldest Japanese poetic form, renga, is the nucleus of the evolvement of tanka and haiku. Waka or uta originated in the 7th century AD in Japan. The term waka (wa means ‘Japanese’, ka means ‘poem’) originally encompassed different styles:  tanka (short poem) and ch?ka (long poem). The songs were written by the royal family.The waka has been written on seasonal subjects (kidai). The waka remained as the neoclassical Japanese literature as characterized by the poets of the Man’y?sh?, Kokin Wakash?, and Shin Kokin Wakash? eras. Manyoshu, literally means ‘A Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves or A Collection for Ten Thousand Ages’, is the oldest collections of waka , probably compiled after AD 759 in Nara period. It contains 4,496 poems, of which 4173 are in the form of waka, written by fisherman to guard to employees.  Manyoshu includes tanka by about 450 identifiable people. The main compiler is thought to be Otomo no Yakamochi (718-785). From the 10th to 13th centuries waka evolved as the poetry of Imperial Japan Court and the writings were comprised of imperial reign, nature, love, travel and other topics. Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s eleventh century novel The Tale of Genji contains more than four hundred tankas. In Japan, Manyoshu, Kokin Wakashu (the first imperial anthology of tanka compiled in 905) and Shin Kokin Wakashu (the eighth imperial anthology of tanka compiled in 1205) are referred as iconic treatises. Historically tanka started during Heian period of the 12th century. Ogura Hyakunin-Isshu (Ogura Collection of One Hundred Tanka was edited by Teika Fujiwara around 1235. 

 

Tanka and the Poetic Characteristics

Tanka is a non-rhymed lyrical poem consisting of 5 lines of independent poetic phrases in the style of short, long, short, long, long syllable count/rhythm in the English language. Each line is one poetic expression and tanka as a whole is a lyric verse. The tanka (small song)  is divided into two strophes. The first three lines of tanka are known as kami-no-ku and the last two lines as shimo-no-ku. The art of image building in the two strophes and the interrelationship (juxtaposition) with a twist make a tanka different from the conventional five-line free verse. Sometimes there is a rare composition of three strophes. The upper part portrays an image about nature and the last two lines or lower part conveys human feelings with a shift or twist. Goldstein in his interview with Patricia Prime says, “I have believed that tanka are moments of the human condition, but part of the human condition is nature.” 

 

The pivot line (kakekatoba) or the swing line (zeugma) is the main characteristic that distinguishes  tanka , by “link and shift”, with a sense of musicality from the five-line free verse.

 

Tanka is characterized by only one break that occurs either in the 1st, 2nd ,3rd or 4th line. The break can be indicated by  a punctuation (em-dash, ellipsis), or it can be implied by having no punctuation. Renowned tanka poet, Sanford Goldstein opines 3/2 arrangements as seen in traditional tanka, is the best way to write. Generally, line-3 serves as the pivot line and swings away from the two lines above by imparting expression of fervent elucidation and elegancy to the tanka with the imagery of the last two long lines. Jane Reichhold says, “I strongly believe that the tanka in English should not be a sentence but show evidence of that switch or twist in voice, place, person, or mood and that when possible a pivot should be employed between them.”

 

Some poets write tanka as a statement form with the last line culminating deep meaning. The renowned poet an’ya opines, “ In Japanese waka/tanka, what's important is not only what is said, but also what is left unsaid……. sometimes even using an ellipsis to create an unfinished thought, thus inviting readers to finish the omission for themselves.”

 

Tanka embodies wide thematic values of human expression: pathos, anguish, emotion, romanticism and other reflections like humour and word-play with poetic elegance, musicality and transcendental message. Exhibition of personification or anthropomorphism, use of metaphor, similes, metrical exhibition, the imaginative blending of alliteration, assonance and occasionally oxymoron  are highly embedded in tanka writing. Tanka is more of subjective in contrast to haiku which is objective in nature. Each line of tanka is a poetic expression. The limited use of the article in the beginning of the line would craft a better poetic flow .Tanka is written in lower case and there is no title of tanka unless it is written as tanka sequences (rensaku) or tanka strings. Also, there is no full stop at the end of last line. If it is not essential, the line can be avoided beginning with the preposition ‘the’ as it often breaks the musical flow of the poem to start with. Similarly, prepositions like ‘a’ and ‘the’ are generally not ended with the line.

 

Tanka genre has a wide scope of poetic expression on broad-spectrum, described by Jane Reichhold in her scholarly essay, “The Wind Five Folded”, based on  mystical expression and loneliness (yugen tei), gentle expression (koto shikarubeki), exotic beauty and elegance (urawashiki tei),  human feeling, love, grief (ushin tei),  grandeur  (taketakaki tei), visual description (miru tei), witty  with conventional subject (omoshiroki tei). Sometimes the subject matters may be described with the unusual poetic concept (hitofushi aru tei) or narrating  in precise details with complex imageries (komayaka naru tei). Some tanka, in contrast to elegance or balanced narration, exhibit strong diction in style of expression. This is classified as demon-quelling (onihishigi tei or kiratsu no tei).

 

Dennis M. Garrison says, “ Definition of English tanka is that it is “five phrases on five lines.” It is essential that the five phrases be cohesive, not just a list. The five lines must be integrated into a unified poem. The fifth line should be a strong line; the strongest.” The beauty, as Garrison opines, lies with “the tanka spirit”, and “leave the reader dreaming room” for the reader, as a “co-creator” to fill from his experience. The “objective correlative” in imagism needs to be evolved as he further adds.

 

Alan Summers defines it, “Tanka are five line poems well-grounded in concrete images yet infused with lyric intensity, with an intimacy from direct expression of emotion tempered with implication. They contain ingredients of suggestion colored by shade and tone, setting off a nuance more potent than direct statement. Almost any subject, explicitly expressing your direct thoughts and feelings can be contained in this short form poetry.”

 

According to Jenny Ward Angyal. “ Each line is ideally comprised of a single, coherent poetic phrase. Enjambment is used rarely and then only to create a carefully considered effect. ….The language should flow smoothly, with musical cadence and attention to the sounds of words. Tanka typically juxtapose two parts with a grammatical break between them. The art lies juxtaposing the images with dexterity. Sentence tanka and those with more than two parts are less common but can work well on occasion. The most effective tanka save the best for last, with the fifth line being the most powerful in terms of sound and sense. Tanka derives its power from the interplay of concrete, sensory images. Ideally the poem goes beyond description, exploring the relationship between the poet’s inner and outer landscapes and offering multiple layers of meaning, both literal and metaphorical. By employing such Japanese aesthetic qualities as wabi-sabi, y?gen, aware, and makoto, tanka evoke emotion without sentimentality and without telling the reader what to feel or think.  Tanka are open and thought-provoking, leaving ample ‘dreaming room’ for the reader, but they are not vague or obscure.” 

 

My Tanka Experience

I started imbibing the poetic feeling and metaphoric expression at an early age of around thirteen by composing aphorisms, proverbial poems (one or two lines) during my school days while writing essays in my mother tongue, Odia. Later on, I wrote both long and short versions of verses, often embellished with both internal and end rhymes. Poems are manifested with the textural density of allegory symbolism and allusions. The beauty of nature, socio-economic spectrum, human emotions, and occasionally mystics with sublime metaphysical expression with idioms and imageries predominantly occupy in my writings. The sense of freedom, peace, love and humanistic expression spotlights in many of my verses. In the volume, “Interviews with Indians Writing in English” (Writers Workshop Publication, 1992), edited by Atma Ram, I opined, “Poems come to my mind as fragrance to flower. Anything  I see, it creates a symbolic frame in my mind......... when I see a small grain of seed, I feel:

 

it is tiny

because it nests with care

the mightiest in it

 

My first printed short English poems, “Defining” and “Love”, appeared in the “THE SCOLOMANIAC”, No.3, Feb 1979, a journal of Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad. I had written very short poems namely  Tearful Smile, Making Art Alive, Hygienic Ostentation, In fact, Konark Visit, Winter, Helpless Mass, Missing Spot,  His Last Wish, Memory, Disabled etc. during the early nineteen eighties. Looking back, I felt that a few of my earlier short poems were, in fact, tanka-like though I was not aware of the genre and the compositional techniques. I am more comfortable writing the shorter version of poems (mostly in 3-6 lines). Essentially the short lyrical poems (micro-poetry) of different metrical forms, composed long back during the nineteen eighties, have been published in 2011 in the collection, “The Tiny Pebbles”.

 

 

Tearful Smile

I pile up the smiles

From the garden

Of creation

In my heart

Until I smile with

Tearful eyes at last.

 

Prevalent Aspects of Indian English Poetry, 1983-84 (Ed. H S Bhatia)

 

His Last Wish

He wishes

To see everybody

Laugh and merry

Though he is

Born blind

Indeed.

 

ByWord, Indo-Australian Special Issue, Vol. 12, No.3 1984 (Ed. Narendrapal Singh)

 

Helpless Mass

Every day

Morning wakes up

Making them to sleep

And

Night goes to sleep

Compelling them to weep.

 

University Today, Vol. 5, No. 9, 1985 (C S Katre)

 

Memory

As patches of cloud

Memory sails around

When I wish

To see

Those become tears in my eyes.

 

Poet, Vol.27, No.12, 1986 (Ed. Krishna Srinivas)

We rush every moment
Into the cave of future
The universe extends 
To the extension of time
And time nowhere ends to itself
 

Pan-continental Premier Poets (The Ninth Biennial Anthology), 1985-1986 (Eds. Bohumila Falkowski, Edwin A Falkowski and Marie. L. Nunn

 

In one of my poems titled “The Other Being”, I wrote in Kritya, Vol V, Part III Aug 2009 (Ed. Rati Saxena and in Poetbay, USA, in 2010, Ed. Anna:

 

At times I wonder

Perhaps we are the

Living images

Of distance cosmic rays

At an imaginative focal length.

 

In 2009, I composed three five-line poems and sent them to the Anglo-Japanese Society. I was new to the traditional style and syllabification of tanka writing. Dr. Hisashi Nakamura, President, Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society, UK was quite appreciative of the philosophical underline of the  poems. Primarily these tanka reflect mystical expression (yugen tei). I made  minor edits by rearranging the lines of the poems in the form of s/l/s/l/l line form at a later date:

 

he searches

in the kingdom of darkness                

for a ray of light

the sun remains always

in hiding for the innocent blind

 

One can express love, grief, happiness, and scores of other subjects with poetic flavor and musicality. The magic of tanka lies in painting images across the pivot line that sparks the light of poetry related to human behavior by the art of link and shift. My passion for conventional short poetry writings has given me an additional avenue for writing tanka. Apart from natural expression, poetry with human value embedded within the framework of natural beauty quite often influences my tanka writings.

 

I read the essays published in AtlasPoetic.org, Tanka Online, The classical tanka archived in ‘Aha Poetry’ site, Eucalypt: A Tanka Journal, Tanka Teachers Guide: MET Publication, 2007 to know about the tanka literature. Further, I derived a lot of poetic inspirations from the enriched essays written by Stanford Goldstein, Jeanne Emrich, Michael McClintock, Kala Ramesh, Beverley George, Michael Dylan Welch, Jane Richhold, M. Kei, Richard MacDonald, Robert W. Wilson, J. Zimmerman, Max Verhart, H. F. Noyes, Karina Klesko, John Daleiden, Carmen Sterba, Larry Kimmel, Elizabeth St. Jacques, Richard Gilbert, Randy Brooks, and others. The articles ‘Introduction to Tanka’ by Amelia Fielden, ‘Sensing Tanka’ by David Terelinck, scholarly article, “The New Short Lyric Poem” by Denis M Garrison have been very beneficial in understanding the age-old classical Japanese genre. The interview articles of Stanford Goldstein, Michael Dylan Welch, and others are of immense help.

 

I got a lot of encouragements from Beatrice Van de Vis, Marilyn Hazelton, Claire Everett, H. Gene Murtha, Kirsty Karkow, Martin Lucas, Aurora Antonovic, Sonam Chhoki, Susan Constable, Tokido Kizenzen, Robert Epstein, Alison Williams, Kath Abela Wilson, Miriam Wald, Don Miller, Liam Wilkinson, Lorette C. Luzajic,Joanne Morcom, Grunge Hello, Michael H. Lester, Patricia Prime, Susan Weaver, Hidenori Hiruta, Jacquie Pearce and many others.

 

For the first time, two of my following tanka were published in the classified print journal, Atlas Poetica in 2010, edited by M Kei. The human feeling with celestial reference has been painted in the first tanka.

 

tomorrow man may

fly to Mars and beyond                      

I wish all to settle

and flourish as human alone --

no caste, no religion

 

Atlas Poetica, Issue 6, 2010 (Ed. M Kei)

 

The following one portrays the visual description (miru tei) in a poetic way:

 

white-land of Antarctica

a serene gathering of penguins,

the veteran  leads the mass

to the curvilinear point

where ice meets the sea

 

Atlas Poetica, Issue 6, 2010 (Ed. M Kei)

The tanka, ‘I mingle’, embedded with Poetic essence (honi) and thematic values, has been referred in “Kudo Resource Guide”, Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, 2014/2015 Season:

 

I mingle

with the vastness

in my dream

caressing the tenderness of

the sea, calmness of the sky

 

Sketchbook, Vol. 5, No 3, May-June, 2010 (Eds. Karina Klesko and John Daleiden)

Amelia Fielden introduced my tanka in the prestigious journal, ‘Simply Haiku’, H Gene Murtha in ‘Notes From the Gean’ and Beate Conrad in ‘Chrysanthemum’. The following tanka captured human expression, pathos (ushintei) and loneliness (yugentei).

 

with telegram

awaits the old man at  post office

the grief soaked paper                                      

sends the message to darkness

over the coffee mixed with tears

 

Simply Haiku, Autumn 2010, Vol.8, No. 2  (Tanka Ed. Amelia Fielden)

sublime smiles

the painting portrays 

I adjust to live

rewinding the coil of time

in the shadows of my loneliness

 

Notes From the Gean, Vol. 2, Issue 2, 2010 (Tanka Ed. H. Gene Murtha)

in long desert

breeze swings  from

the crest to valley

I march with lonely shadow as

footprints fill the shifting sand

 

Chrysanthemum  12,  October 2012 ( Ed. Beate Conrad)

Most of my tanka are primarily focused on emotional expression (ushin tei). I felt privileged on the inclusion of the tanka given below in the Special Feature at AtlasPoetica.org; April 2012 

 

the sparrow

leaves its message

coming home

the old man still awaits

son’s return from battle

 

Snipe Rising From A Marsh – Birds in Tanka (Ed.Rodney Williams)

The special interaction and great encouragements that I received from Susan Constable are worth remembering. She had made minor editing for publication of the following tanka with minor editing. It portrays the socio-economic condition juxtaposing the darkness as a metaphor.

 

shadows drift

under the setting sun

the life

of a  beggar mingles

with the darkness

 

A Hundred Gourds. 1:4, 2012 (Ed. Susan Constable)

Quite often I compose tanka unfolding the inner beauty with gentle expression (koto shikarubeki). The followings are some of the examples:

 

I watch 

the black, white and brown

short and tall

all variances and varieties

in the garden of beauty

 

Magnapoets, Issue 9, January 2012 (Ed. in. Chief. Aurora Antonovic)

warmth

in the winter cold

reminds me

of my mother

lulling me to sleep

 

Red Lights, June 2012 (Ed. Marilyn Hazelton)

The followings are some of the examples of tanka with the elegant poetic expression:

 

summer streak

I wish I were a bird

in the open sky:

full of thin  clouds soothing

the burns with dripping rains

 

Four Seasons Haiku, 2nd June 2012 (Ed. Beatrice Van de Vis)

rows of trees

along stretched seashore

remain speechless

perhaps the oceanic vastness

interacting in deep silence

 

Simply Haiku, Vol. 10 No.1, Summer 2012 (Eds. Robert D. Wilson and Sasa Vazic)

The inspiration rendered by Dave Rice is everlasting. He published some of my tanka  in “Ribbons”:

 

in starlit sky

the beggar counts

the coins

just enough

for a Christmas cake

 

Ribbons, Fall Issue, Vol.8, No.2 2012 (Ed. Dave Rice)

the spider climbs

up  the corner edge

on stepping stones

the handicapped  boy

aims  towards the starlit sky

 

Ribbons, Fall Issue, Vol. 9 No.2 2013 (Ed. Dave Rice)

Steve in his selection appreciated the gentle expression (koto shikarubeki) with a note musicality in one of my tanka:

 

fragrance of flower

from far off distance

our relationship

I narrate and mail her

through the gentle  wind

 

The Bamboo Hut, Vol.1, No.3, 2014 (Ed. Steve Wilkinson)

Words of Claire Everett have been a perennial inspiration in my tanka writing. The following tanka exhibits the interplay of imageries in the style of grandeur expression (taketakaki tei). I have a special affinity for this poem for its content and musicality. I wrote this in spontaneity imagining the seashore I often visit:

 

wave after wave

on an incessant journey 

another sunset 

when I long to change the taste

of salt, the colour of the wind

 

Skylark, 2:2 Winter Issue 2014 (Ed.Claire Everett)

One Man’s Maple Moon,2017 (Ed. Chen-ou Liu)

 

Commenting on the above tanka, Nicholas Klacsanzky enumerates:

 

“I think the two most important words in this tanka that trigger poetic symbolism and concepts are “journey” and “sunset.” A journey in this context could be one’s life, or a spiritual ascension. “Sunset” could be referencing an end of a period of time in one’s life.

 

I like the gradual pace of the tanka, and the astonishing, yet simple last line. The pace is reminiscent of the subject at hand. In terms of the last line, I believe the writer is expressing his dissatisfaction with the way things are in his life—even rudimentary things. In a sense, he seems to want to break out of reality.

I like the use of “w” sounds in the first and last lines, which mimics the wind. The “s” sounds throughout the tanka can be said to be like the noise of waves. Other than this subjective impression, it makes the poem more musical and magnetizing. An engaging, efficient, and deeply expressive tanka.”

 

Analyzing the zen-feeling, Lucia Fontana synthesises:

“The feeling I’m overwhelmed with when reading this poem is a sort of breathlessness, with which the author seems to be trying to deal with……. It’s a poem about a humble human being, absorbed by the pressing and routine of time (incessant journey…. another sunset….) and the wish to feel free from material perception, which can lead to a more spiritual condition… Impermanence here is the red thread that runs through the tanka: of the beauty of nature, of human perceptions. I do feel all the tension to be more than a soul slave of the perceptions of its body, so a wish to go beyond flesh and bones and find peace of mind, an inner thoughtless shining silence.”

 

Figuring out the sense of hardship, Hifsa Ashraf opines:

“I feel that this tanka is about a hardship that a person is passing through. “Wave after wave” means shifting from one painful event to another, which seem like trials…… Both salt and wind are quite significant in spirituality, as both significantly influence the mood and behavior of a person….. Overall, the writer beautifully disguised both spiritual and social lives in this tanka.”

 

an’ay encouraged me a lot in writing Japanese short poems. She has chosen to include the following tanka, symbolizing waves of love and romanticism, in the Premier issue of journal Cattails.

 

waves on waves

along the longshore

at the signpost

our close relationship dwells

under the crossed footprints

 

Cattails, Premier Issue,January 2014 (Ed. an’ay)

 

Emotional expression (ushin tei) expressed in tanka has been captured by Susan Constable, Marilyn Hazelton, Alison Williams and Liama Wilkinson in the following tanka:

 

a solitary kite

in the twilight sky

dusk deepens

unfolding the heaviness

of her long loneliness

 

A Hundred Gourds, 4:2, March 2015 (Ed. Susan Constable)

One Man’s Maple Moon,2017 (Ed. Chen-ou Liu)

 

melting snow

over the stepping stones

a gentle touch

on my wounded  heart 

ignites the warmth of joy of living 

 

red lights, January 2016 (Ed. Marilyn Hazelton)

 

who knows

my little effort spurs

a new shift

gentle breeze flips pages

of my old manuscripts

 

red lights, January 2016 (Ed. Marilyn Hazelton)

 

full moon

peeps through the roof

the street dweller

tightly holds the thread

of hope against  wild  thunder

 

Atlas Poetica: Special Feature on ‘I will be Home’, Spring  2016 (Ed. Liam Wilkinson)

 

the orphan

at the crossroad

he stares at

the safety slogans

painted on the billboard

 

Presence # 62, 2018 (Ed. Alison Williams)

 

I came across the idea of Ekphrastic tanka and Lorette C. Luzajic appreciated the juxtaposition of the image:   

 

journey of life 

lays as tiny footings

the imprints

remain as  joy of image

on the silent rock surface

 

Ekphrastic Tanka, Nov 2015 (Ed. Lorette C. Luzajic)

 

Note: Tanka based on Cave Paintings at Bhimbetka, India, approx. 2000 B.C., photo by Raveesh Vyas.

 

I deeply acknowledge Kath Abela Wilson’s poetic support for publishing my tanka (with a photo sent by my daughter, Smita, from the USA) articulating the concept of elegance in expression (Urawashiki tei).

 

the poet scripts

her well-lit voyage

ripples of love

the darkness paints

gently on the silken edges

 

Poetry Corner,’ColoradBoulevard.net, May 2016 (Ed. Kath Abela)

 

Kath Abela comments:

 

“Pravat Kumar Padhy 's tanka impresses itself with grace, onto the page while his daughter, Smita, opens the shell of mystery with poetic wings and wand. The theme is making an impression. I am interpreting your poem as writing leaves marks on the page and mind and heart.”

 

Supporting the animal rights, I contributed the following tanka to the prestigious anthology edited by Robert Epstein and Miriam Wald.

 

she waits

since dawn for her calf

the screams

over the sharp edge melt down 

suturing the  early morning sun

 

Animal Rights Anthology, 2016 (Eds. Robert Epstein and Miriam Wald)

 

I like to explore scientific aspects in literature. Scientific quest and mythological concepts have been interpreted in the following tanka.

 

from a ball of flesh

Queen Gandhari brought forth 

her Kaurava clan… 
science celebrates the birth

of test-tube baby, Louise Brown
 

Special Feature on “MYTHS AND THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION”, Atlas Poetica.org, April 2015 edited by Sonam Chhoki
 

Note:  In the Mahabharat, Queen Gandhari sprinkled water over a ball of flesh, which was divided into a hundred and one parts about the size of a thumb. These were then placed in pots with clarified butter and kept at a concealed spot under guard. In due course, a hundred brothers and one sister were born, known as the Kauravas. 

 

the temple steps

lead to the corner end…

with Ardhanarishvara

the devotees divinely sense

the softness of the stony carvings

 

 

Special Feature on “Yin, Yang, and Beyond: Short Poems of Sex and Gender in the 21st Century”, Atlas Poetica.org, October 2015 (Ed.Tokido Kizenzen)

 

Note: The name Ardhanarishvara means ‘the Lord whose half is a woman’. In Hinduism and Indian mythology many deities are represented as both male and female, manifesting with characteristics of both genders, including Ardhanarishvara, created by the merging of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati.

 

The editor of “Whispers”, Karen O’Leary comments on the following tanka, “I really think your artistic way …… provides a pleasing visual experience.”

 

the Berlin Wall

once cemented with pain

the sugar mingles

with the flow of happiness

bonding with homely feeling

 

Whispers, 10.2.2017 (Ed. Karen O’Leary)

I especially take an immense interest in composing tanka based on specified themes covered under “Special Features” of Atlas Poetica. The one which gathered much attention is on the emotional expression of transgender. The tanka selected by Janick Bellaeu is as follows:

 

black and white

paintings on the pot

the transgender

searches the streak of colors

to fill the gap of the emptiness

 

Atlas Poetica, Chiaroscuro LGBT Tanka, August 2012 (Ed. Janick Bellaeu)

One Man’s Maple Moon Anthology, 2013 (Ed. Chen-ou Liu)

 

The following tanka narrate complex imageries (komayaka naru tei) to portray loneliness. The phrases such as holding the silent wind and swimming clouds are the depiction of exquisite imageries in the following tanka:

 

a lone myna

high in the sky

the kite

descends on its weight

holding  the  silent wind

 

Cattails, April 2017 (Ed. David Terelinck)

 

my gleaming mother

shares her  pleasure  

with twin buds

I sense ripples of sound

of the swimming clouds

 

They Gave Us Life Anthology, 2017 (Ed. Robert Epstein)

 

A few of tanka are based on humour. The following one with a touch of humour and witty in expression (omoshiroki tei) has been published in the Inaugural issue of ‘Bleached Butterfly’, edited by Lori a Minor.

 

art of imagination
sets the fish to start flying
the tree hides

flowers and fruits underneath
as the man thinks from his belly
 

Bleached Butterfly, Inaugural Issue, 2019 (Ed. Lori A Minor)
 

On a few occasion, I do refer unusual poetic concept (hitofushi aru tei) for making tanka:  

 

We feel proud

being descendant of Neanderthals

on the flow of time

living here, adjacent everywhere

as a part of the long human-ware

 

Diogen, February, 2012 (Ed. Djurdja Vukelic Rozic)

 

Dictated strong tone (onihishigi tei or kiratsu no tei) to expresses anguish about the socio-political issues has been reflected in some of my poems. The phrases like, “letting moon to set in shame”, “the wind you can not seize” are sort of dictated statement used in the following poems:

 

stormy night

deep darkness tears through

whiteness of woman

silencing every one else and

letting moon to set in shame

 

LYNX, Vol. XXVIII, February 2012 (Agony: A Tanka Sequence)

(Eds. Werner Reichhold and Jane Reichhold)

 

arguments and 
counter arguments
I pile up like dust 
it is all in the street 
the wind you cannot seize

 

IRIS International, Issue 2, July 2016 (Editor-in-chief Roži?, ?ur?a Vukeli?)

 

A few examples of tanka writing and interpretation discover the magical thread of imagination that portrays the exquisite fabric of literature. Chen-ou compares the following tanka with Julian Barnes’s award-winning novel.

 

at life’s shoreline
the sands of time escape
from many gaps …
I collect memories
embedded in sediment

Notes from the Gean, 3:1, June 2011(Tanka Guest Ed. Kirsty Karkow )

Chen-ou Liu writes:

 

“…..As in Pravat's tanka, the figure captivates the eye, and the reader is drawn toward it through the shoreline, sands, and sediment. His tanka sparks the reader's reflection on the passage of time in relation to
memory, and reminds me of the following remark:

 

I know this much: that there is objective time, but also subjective time, the kind you wear on the inside of your wrist, next to where the pulse lies. And this personal time, which is the true time, is measured in your relationship to memory.
 

--Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending (The Man Booker Prize in 2011).”

 

In the following tanka, ‘drizzling rain’, Chen-ou affirms:  

 

“The upper verse sets the tone and mood of the tanka while the lower verse makes a thematic and emotional shift to reveal the healing power of imagination/hope.”

 

drizzling rain
all the day long
I await
the twilight sunshine
to paint my lost rainbow

Cattails, January 2016 (Ed. an’ya)

 

Kira Lily Nash, Guest Editor, Special Feature, Atlas Poetica.org opines while selecting the following tanka:

 

the boulders
roll all along the river bed
my memories
murmur in deep silence
traversing vastness of the sky
 

Flowing Tranquillity’, Atlas Poetica.org, December 2019 (Ed. Kira Lily Nash)

“Its sense of quiet and timeless peace is a great grounding comfort in our chaotic and anchorless times. That we may remember that we too are of earth and vast sky, organic and real in a world of contrivance. My gratitude again to you for sharing your vision with me.”
 

Some of my Astro-Tanka (‘Muse of Science’) written with celestial references have been published in the anthology of short tanka sequence, “The Stacking Stone”, 2018, edited by M Kei. I wish to write poems with celestial references and mankind.

 

 

cosmic call

for the earth scientists…

space ladder bridging 

conference in Mars town

with the interstellar beings

 

Stacking Stones: An Anthology of Short Tanka Sequences,2018 (Ed. M Kei) 

 

celestial journey

to far-off Red Planet 

I sketch mankind

under the robotic tree

the earth in blue and white

 

The Signature Haiku, Senryu and Tanka Anthology, 2020 (Ed. Robert Epstein)

 

Commenting on my maiden Tanka collection, “The Rhyming Rainbow”, Particia Prime in her Foreword writes:

 

“…….The collection is both moving and accomplished. Padhy can raise everyday moments to the realms of the extraordinary and sets up a compelling rhythm throughout his work. He writes  poignantly about nature: gentle winds, birds flapping their wings, Antarctica, clouds, the shore and much more……. There’s an inextinguishable joyousness at the heart of Padhy’s work that makes reading him an upbeat and uplifting experience…..”.

 

Sonam Chhoki, Principal editor, cattails adds:

 

“……..Padhy evokes myriad facets of the natural world around him as well as longing, dreams and even outrage. I am struck by the underlying motif of music whether it is the “desert folk song”, voices in the fields, the rise and fall of waves, birdsong or the lullaby of a nursing mother.

 

The German philosopher and poet, Friedrich Schlegel said that to get to the “heart of physics” one must be “initiated into the mysteries of poetry.” This debut collection of tanka by Padhy, a scientist, seems to vindicate this.”

 

Hidenori Hiruta summarises:

 

“Pravat Kumar Padhy is familiar with tanka, creating a world of enlightenment. Each tanka is worth reading, giving us a desire to live a long life in Padhy’s tanka world.” 

 

Robert Epstein observes:

 

“Pravat’s first book of tanka is a remarkable synthesis of his scientific perspective and strong poetic spirit. Pravat has a big heart which enables him to approach with emotional honesty, difficult realities that include poverty, natural disasters, aging, illness and loss (to name only a few) with great courage and hope. He situates human suffering within the broader context of Nature, including the galactic realm, and discovers much Beauty to appreciate. His tanka, like the traditional Japanese form, are songs to soothe and uplift the human soul.”

 

Ai li remarks:

 

“….Pravat sings to us in a voice that remembers the rain, the moon, forests, clouds, fields, and stars - painting rainbows, to guide us through his ephemeral world.”

 

I witness the colours of hope in loneliness, anxiety, pain and grief and a world of joy of living. The tanka unveil the human psychology interweaving mythology with modernity and seclusion with unification along with the saga of peace and harmony, here and beyond.

 

J Zimmerman,  reviewing  the collection, “Rhyming the Rainbow”  in  Ribbons, Vol.15, No.3, Fall 2019  enumerates with reference to the tanka ‘I painted’ included in the collection :

 

“……I am particularly charmed by Pravat’s delicate juxtapositions: ‘I painted’ contrasts night’s darkness subtly with the patches of white that remains unpainted;  “the rainbow” ingeniously sets the arrival of tears against the disappearance of a rainbow and the moisture that had made it visible. … I find much to enjoy in this rich collection that justifies why Pravat’s poems are widely published and have own honourable mentions and commendations.”

 

I painted

throughout night

my memories

of grief and anguish

remain as patches of white

 

Undertow Tanka Review, 2014 (Ed. Sergio Ortiz)

 

Through poetry I try to sketch the shadow of grief, loneliness, anguish and sufferings. At the same time, I wish the poem to ignite the spark of joy in everyone’s eyes.

 

the rainbow

slowly disappears

into the sky

the stain of  separation

drenches me with tears

 

A Hundred Gourds, 4:4 September 2015 (Ed. Susan Constable)

(The tanka Portrayed as traditional haiga by Ron Moss)

 

sand writings

along a solitary shore

from the horizon

roaring waves wash away

her lengthy inner script

 

Tanka Origins, 2nd Edition, December 2019 (Ed. an’ya)

 

good wishes

from far-off distance

I dream

as if the wave carries

her message from grain to grain

 

Modern Tanka Corner, Lyrical Passion Poetry, 2020(Ed-in-Chief R D Bailey)

 

blue moon

through the oncology window

twisting aside

I stare at the twinkling stars

to become one amongst all

 

Eucalypt, Issue 28, 2020 (Ed.Julie Thorndyke)

 

a sparrow

flits from side to side

bright light

through a narrow opening
offers hope for the missing child

 

Under the Basho, 2020 (Ed. Jenny Ward Angyal)

                   

*****   *****   *****

 

a lone seagull

on  a shore branch

how long it waits

as waves touch and go

as waves touch and go

 

Tanka Origins, August Edition 2020 (Ed. an’ya)

an’ya, the Editor of Tanka Origins comments: A very memorable tanka by Pravat Kumar Padhy from India. Suddenly, I am  a seagull alone waiting, waiting, waiting on a shore pine branch”. Pravat’s repetition in the final two lines enhances the concept of the tanka greatly, and only a skilled tanka poet could create the feeling Pravat has given readers in this tanka. It's yet another stunning example of his usual fine work!

 

her  cloth
soaked with tears…
on the edge 
of curled green leaf
the burden of the heavy rains  
 

Cold Moon Journal, 15 October 2000 (Ed. Roberta Beach Jacobson)

****    ****    ****

crescent moon

in the mid-way sky

in her loneliness

she counts the stars

thickening shadow of the night

 

MoonInk Anthology, December 2020 (Eds. Tana Jackson and Lee Jackson)

****    ****    ****

 

along the shore

life blooms as if

to float again…

kids collect empty shells

refilling sand with smiles

 

MoonInk Anthology, December 2020 (Eds. Tana Jackson and Lee Jackson)

Life is a poem, music is its journey. Poetry is written by itself. Poet is just a medium like ink. The essence of poetry nestles in the diligent fragrance of the flower, simplicity of flow of the river, the gentle spread of leaves, the calmness of the ocean and the embellishment of soothing shadow. I urge the younger generation to explore the aroma of joy and happiness through poetry. Explore the meaning of the ambience in its simplicity and paint the image with words. Let us observe the aspects of nature and correlate them literally with the human aspects (joy, grief, humour, emotion etc) by the art of juxtaposition. At the end, let the haiku create a sense of silence and substance in the reader’s mind. The poet needs to facilitate the reader to visualize the journey of growth of a beautiful tree out of the brevity of the seed of haiku. Let the reader explore the layered meanings culminating into an epiphany of the sublime feeling. I quote George Steiner’s line: “When the word of the poet ceases, a great light begins.”

 

 

Pravat Kumar Padhy has obtained his Masters of Science and Technology and a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. His Japanese short forms of poetry have been widely published.  His poems received many awards, honours and commendations including the Editors’ Choice Award at Writers Guild of India, Sketchbook, Asian American Poetry, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival International Haiku Honourable Mention, UNESCO International Year Award of Water Co-operation, The Kloštar Ivani? International Haiku Award, IAFOR Vladimir Devide Haiku Award and others. He has seven collections of verse to his credit.

His work is showcased in the exhibition “Haiku Wall”, Historic Liberty Theatre Gallery in Bend, Oregon, USA and tanka, ‘I mingle’ is featured in the “Kudo Resource Guide”, University of California, Berkeley. His Taiga (Tanka-Photo) is featured in the 20th Anniversary Taiga Showcase of American Tanka Society. His tanka has been put on rendition (music by José Jesús de Azevedo Souza) in the Musical Drama Performance, ‘Coming Home’, The International Opera Through Art Songs, Toronto, Canada.  He has experimented with a new genre of linked form, Hainka: the fusion of haiku and tanka. He is nominated to the prestigious panel of ‘The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems’, The Haiku Foundation, USA. Presently he is the Editor of Haibun, Haiga and Visual Haiku of the Journal, ‘Under the Basho’.