Tanka Quotes

“白鳥は
哀しからずや
空の青
海のあをにも
染まずただよふ

Shiratori wa
kanashikarazu ya
Sora no ao
umi no ao ni mo
somazu tadayou

Does not a white bird
Feel within her heart forlorn?
The blue of the sky
The blue of the sea. Neither
Stains her, between them she floats.”
― Bokusui Wakayama

“Ikivihreitten
humisevien mäntyjen
varjossa katson
epäuskoisena kukkien
lyhyttä kukoistusta.”
― Sakanoue no Korenori

“Oi elämäni,
toivoton sammumaton.
Miten kadehdin
tuulen tuivertamia
soihtuja yössä.”
― Izumi Shikibu

“Aina liikkeellä.
Aina ikävä kotiin.
Tuolla kaukana
soutaa avomerta päin
tulipunainen laiva.”
― Takechi Kurohito

“Kun, aamutuuli,
koko unettoman yön
kaivattuani
kosketat häntä, koske
minua myös, minua!”
― Kakinomoto Hitomaro

“Kiuru kohoaa
kevään hohtavaan ilmaan
niin riemukkaasti -
Minä jään tänne yksin
ja mieli painuksissa.”
― Ōtomo no Yakamochi

“Sinä hymyilit
kun kylvimme neilikat:
odota syksyyn.
Ne kukkivat nyt. Sinä
et ole näkemässä.”
― Ōtomo no Yakamochi

“Lupasit tulla
luokseni viime yönä.
Se yö on mennyt.
En luota sinuun enää.
Rakastan sinua aina.”
― Ariwara no Narihira

“En tunne enää
ystäväni sydäntä.
Vain luumunkukat
yhä tuoksuvat niin kuin
tuoksuivat kerran ennen.”
― Ki no Tsurayuki

“Sataa kirsikan
kukkaslunta ja lumen
kirsikankukkaa.
Minä kysyn kevväältä:
lunta, kukkaa vai lunta?”
― Lady Ise

“Yö. Vartiosto
palatsin edustalla.
Aamu. Nuotiot
poljetaan sammuksiin. Kuin
mieleni ne kytevät.”
― Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu

“Suohon uponnut
puu ei kukkinut koskaan.
Nyt minä kannan
ainoan hedelmäni:
menen itse kuolemaan.”
― Minamoto no Yorimasa

“Kevään kukkien
aikaan toivomme ettei
olisi yötä,
syksyllä kuutamossa,
ettei päivä koittaisi.”
― Saigyō Hōshi

“Ulkona alkaa
sadella, pehmeästi.
Minä kuuntelen.
Käännän lampun seinään päin
niin tulee hämärämpää.”
― Fushimi Tennō

“Miekkani nostan,
tämän miekan niin kauan
omistamani:
on vihdoinkin aika se
singota taivasta päin.”
― Sen no Rikyū

“Haiku are meant to evoke an emotional response from the reader ... to light the spark that triggers creative rumination ... They act as literary manifestations ... visions of nature’s seasonal modulations ... They're emotionally tinged words, barely perceptible sensory flickers ... literary etchings of lucid visions transposed into the minds of its readers ... They're meant to act as sensory catalysts ... like the passing of a penciled baton laid out upon a piece of paper that a reader might grasp for in their mind's eye ... all of which prompts the reader to continue exploring the sensory experience elicited from the writers pen ... This is how the literary sketching of poets are intended to function ... as creative muses with which readers can draw from and viscerally apply to their own artistic idioms ... from that lucid space within their heads ... where their minds eye can spark their own creative visions"

Bukusai Ashagawa”
― Bukusai Ashagawa

“Talking noisily,
women walked together.
In silence,
the moon walked
with me.”
― Meeta Ahluwalia

“without changing color
in the emptiness
of this world of ours,
the heart of man
fades like a flower.

Tsurayuki identifies two powers of poetry I do not find in Komachi's extant poems.
Both relate to the higher realm of the gods and goddesses, and again I do not find this subject matter in her poems.
He cites poems 'Moving heaven and earth' and 'Waking the feelings of unseen gods and spirits'.
In fact, Komachi expresses a view that seems to be nihilistic.”
― Poets Unite Worldwide, Moments of Lightness: Haiku & Tanka

“Pages turn, worlds unfold
ink-stained journeys come alive
through bindings we soar
a single tome, a gateway
to adventures and beyond

#Brkn”
― Stuart Brkn Johns, Abstract Delusion: Haiku & Tanka

“يهمنّي عاد لي، ما هم كم غابا
… فالبعد لا يجعل العشاق أغرابا
وتبت عن حبه؟ إني جننت به
… ذنب الذي تاب يومًا أنه تابا
أحبه حين يأتي وهو مرتبكٌ
وحين يشرح كالأطفال أسبابا
وحين يقسم أني بيت غربته
وحين يشعلني شمعًا ومحرابا
وكلما خاب ظني فيه يغمرني
حتى يسامحه قلبي الذي ذابا”
― Mahdi Mansour

“عندما تنظرين إلى الشرق يخضرّ قلبي قليلاً…
وتنساب أغنيةٌ في عروق الضجرْ…”
― Mahdi Mansour

“الأدراج: قصائد المدن نحو معانيها العالية…”
― Mahdi Mansour

“I inhale peace and
I ask the Universe to
transmute negative
energy that is not mine
as I fully let it go.
(Exhale)”
― Shreya Mandal

“Looks like you brought us a souvenir," said Nagare, plucking a plum petal from the jacket's shoulder.
"Oh," said Shuji, staring at the petal in Nagare's hand. "Must have fallen on me at the shrine."
"How does that tanka go again?" said Koishi. Then she recited:

When the east wind blows,
Let it send your fragrance,
Oh plum blossoms.
Although your master is gone,
Do not forget the spring.

"Something like that, anyway."
Nagare nodded. "Love is a force to be reckoned with. But it can also be a pretty short-lived affair." He blew into his hand and the petal went fluttering into the air.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Menu of Happiness