tanka – Whippet Wisdom – a Highland Journey

Tanka: Blankets of Mist

two whippets in winter jackets playing on the beach in thick fog

tails wagging
like banners of love
the cold moon
spreads blankets of mist
all around the island

two whippets in winter jackets running towards the camera on the beach

Wishing you all a very happy Tuesday,

with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/2.8 – 1/1000 s – ISO 100 and f/2.8 – 1/800 s – ISO 100.

Dutch Goes the Photo Tuesday Photo Challenge: Mist

Frank J Tassone’s Weekly Haikai Challenge #116: Cold Moon

Twiglet #156: Tails Like Banners

Tanka: Every Step

a black whippet in a black jacket on the beach with an orange ball

so sacred
the salt in the air and sea
every step
towards the infinite
a new beginning

Wishing you all a peaceful Thursday,

with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ 200, Settings: f/4 – 1/640 s – ISO 100 and f/4 – 1/500 s – ISO 100.

Becca’s Nurturing Thursday

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Microcosm

Tanka: Morning Glow

two whippets running across the beach in the morning sun with balls

from the sea
a film of moonlight
we long to know
the spirit of this new day
we have never seen before

a tidal beach with heaps of seaweed in the glow from the rising sun

Wishing you all a magical Tuesday,

with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/2.8 – 1/2000 s – ISO 160, f/2.8 – 1/2000 s – ISO 100 and f/7.1 – 1/1600 s – ISO 160.

Dutch Goes the Photo Tuesday Photo Challenge: Glow

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge #282: Haze & Sand

Word of the Day Challenge: Uplifting

Tanka Prose: Walking with Saigyõ

a black whippet in a black jacket striding down a mountain trail

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

view from a hill over heather, pine and golden birch

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