holding the flag high
they march taller than
trees–
the heady aroma
of summer magnolias
Today I read a post about appreciating and writing tanka in Red Dragonfly’s blog. It should have carried a health warning, something like, Read it at your peril: you will be tempted to write tanka for the rest of your day(s); or, Read and risk tanka obsession! Something like that to warn its readers of adverse effects. My own first reaction was to write my daily haiku – which I write participating in the Facebook community’s NaHaiWriMo project extension – as my first ever tanka! The day’s prompt had been ‘flags.’ I got carried away, you see. Tongue in cheek, I posted it in the NaHaiWriMo facebook site for the good folks there to see! I only hope Melissa doesn’t see my first attempt!
If you like living dangerously though, do read the post about tanka. It is a tanka beginners’ dream: informative and with a number of good links. So, tanka? I’ll try to do that!
Stella Pierides 
haha — oh, dear. I better not read it. I’ve been toying around with the idea of trying to figure out tanka. (I feel like I’m just now beginning to understand haiku…) 😀
I do like this one, first attempt and all.
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Thank you, Angie! I was speaking tongue in cheek, of course.
I’ll keep trying with the tanka… and yes, I see myself as a beginner in haiku as well as in tanka!
I hope you liked the picture of the magnolia… I am so fond of this tree. It has the most beautiful, dreamy lemony scent…
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Stella, that’s an absolutely amazing first tanka! Way, way better than my own first attempt (which I have managed successfully to block from my memory)…but I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you. 🙂
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Melissa, you are an angel! Thank you very much, so encouraging!
I will be tinkering with tanka from now on then… (as well as haiku, of course).
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Μολονότι δε χωνεύω τη ρυθμιστική κριτική, ωστόσο πιστεύω ότι ως άνθρωπος συγκεντρώνεις μια συνολική εμπειρία-μέσα στην ιστορία (σου) και έξω (ά-χρονα)
και κάθε τι τότε, στο οποίο εστιάζεις και αποδίδεις με λέξεις, έχει άλλο εύρος, βάθος, συνοπτικότητα, περιεκτικότητα. Και κυρίως πρωτοτυπία.
Παρακαλώ δες αν θέλεις τις παραπάνω ιστοσελίδες για τον Παύλο Κριναίο, ριγμένο κάπως από τα “κυκλώματα αμοιβαίου θαυμασμού” στην Ελλάδα, που περιχαράκωσαν τις ποιητικές τους “δόξες”, σαν τα αυθαίρετα.
Μπάμπης Μιχαηλίδης
5-9-2011
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Thank you very much for your kind words. I hope you liked my tanka Olea europea! in Atlas Poetica, special features http://atlaspoetica.org/?page_id=416
I just visited your site, and I am very impressed… I printed out to read the article about the introduction of haiku (the first in Greece) by Pavlos Krinaios in 1926. Thank you for pointing it out. Very strong work in there!
By the way, you may be aware of the article The History of Haiku in Greece in Shamrock No 17 (http://shamrockhaiku.webs.com/shamrockno17.htm).
PS I couldn’t get your URL to work at first, but then I could get to your site like this: http://haiku-first.eu/
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Αγαπητή Στέλλα
Σου εύχομαι χρόνια πολλά.
Παρότι καταλαβαίνω ότι μετεωρίζεσαι σε χρόνους, που είναι ανεξάρτητοι από τις σταθερές ημερομηνίες των γιορτών.
Μπάμπης Μιχαηλίδης Κριναίος
22-12-2011
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Thank you so much! I always appreciate good wishes! Best wishes and happy holidays to you too!
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