Matsuo Bashõ (1644-1694) is one of the world’s best known haiku poets and his work has been guiding me along a poetic journey that offers me a space to pause and breathe. He carried the poems of Saigyõ (1118-1190) under his arm and I was curious to read what Bashõ was reading. Saigyõ gazed at the moon and flowers in many different places. According to Gary Snyder, Saigyõ takes the moon into his mind and out again, opening a new way of seeing the universe.
It is something I can relate to, climbing this hill. I see the colours unfolding in echoes of moonlight and sun. There are still remnants of purple on the higher ground, where the heather was late to flower.
ancestral moon
autumn’s deep places
in our heart between
the green, gold and violet
mirrors everywhere
© Xenia Tran
This piece was inspired by Saigyõ’s Mirror of the Moon (translated by Gary Snyder, 1978). I love the way Saigyõ’s tanka can be read both as the lines fall on the page and in reverse order, something I love to aim for when writing my own tanka.
Wishing you all a magical Thursday,
with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/2.8 – 1/320 s – ISO 160, f/2.8 – 1/640 s – ISO 160 and f/4 – 1/400 s – ISO 160.
Becca’s Nurturing Thursday
dVerse Poets Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft – Imitation Practice
Your Daily Word Prompt: Incorporate
Word of the Day Prompt: Glorious
Whippet Wisdom - a Highland Journey 
A beautiful verse, Xenia and that last photograph…wow! 💚It’s like being on top of the world 🤗Hope you’re all having a wonderful Thursday ❤️🐕xxx
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Cathy, we were lucky the rain stopped when we climbed above the tree line and the colours were so beautiful in this light 💜 Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday too and much love from our house to yours 🤗🐾💖🐾 xxx
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Thank you 🤗 Much love on its way 💖🐕xxx
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Thank you Cathy! 🙂💕🐕 xxx
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I’m with Cathy all the way. Also, we all need to pause and breathe, especially in this country. So much going on right now. Sigh.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Laurie 💜 Pausing for a deep and mindful breath is a great way to find some peace in all that’s going on 🙂💖 xxx
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Hard to do when you’re glued to the impeachment hearings. But perhaps it’s even more important then.
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It truly is Laurie and can be especially beneficial in times like these 🤗💖 xxx
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You bet!
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I like how you describe our hearts being mirrored in those deep places with the ancestral moon.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Frank 🙂
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This is truly beautiful!
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Thank you kindly dear Linda! 🤗💖 xxx
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Lovely words and photos. The words are such beautiful colours 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Jane, those colours spoke to me most from the landscape 🤗💜 xxx
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They are so pure. Crystal.
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🙂💜 xxx
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I love how you describe your beautiful walk.
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Thank you kindly Bjorn! 🙂🐾🐾
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A terrific tanka, per usual for you–although when read from the bottom up, it is not quite coherent. Your walks are the things of poetic legend, and I enjoy each of them, plus the poems and photos that we are treated to.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Glenn, so happy to have you walk along with us here 🙂🐾🐾
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This is most enjoyable and informative Xan, thank you for sharing this. I really like the Tanka-like closing.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Rob 🙂
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What a lovely tanka! Thank you for sharing the info.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Beverly, it’s a pleasure to share 🤗💖 xxx
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Lovely Xenia. I love your walks with Eivor and Pearl. The colors in the photos are so rich, just like the tanka
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Toni 🤗💖🐕 xxx
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Xena — L O V E this Tanka —- and the photos to go with it. Makes my heart sing! Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Becca and for hosting this lovely challenge 🤗💜 xxx
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I see shining when I read this
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Aww thank you dear Lisa 🤗💖 xxx
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🙂 ❤ You are welcome Xenia.
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Lovely tanka, well done!
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Thank you kindly! 🙂
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Your welcome 🖤
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Beautifully done Xenia…
autumn’s deep places
in our heart
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Dwight 🙂💜🍁
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You are welcome!
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I’ve been thinking a lot about haiku recently – I think this is really well done, capturing a moment of realisation in a hasty world.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Sarah, haiku always gives me a pause to breathe 🤗💖 xxx
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Basho and Snyder are fertile inspiration. I’m going to have to try the reversible tanka–your meditation is beautiful, start to finish. (K)
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Kerfe 🙂
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No Truth Higher We See
Creative Than Nature’s
iMaGiNaTioN iN Us For Real..:)
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Thank you dear Fred, that’s beautiful 💜 A happy rest of the weekend to you and Katrina from all of us here 🤗💖🐕
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I hadn’t thought of reading it backwards, but the images are pretty either way, and that fits well with the theme of mirrors everywhere. 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Meg 🤗💖 xxx
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You have tapped into the Japanese master haiku writings with this fantastic Tanka Xenia
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Denis 🤗💖🐕
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What better guide could you have? This is full of light and color.
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Thank you so much for your kind words dear Sara, I love to honour these guides 💜 It feels so good to know that what he experienced eight hundred years ago still resonates with us today 🤗💖 xxx
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Ow that is wonderful prose .. that last image is super 🙂
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Aww thank you so much for your kind words dear Julie 🤗🐾💖🐾 xxx
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