Blue Temple
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Image, Poetry, Tanka, art, gratitude, homage, joy, love, minimalist, mystery, philosophy, photo, prayer, wisdom
The image of this plate above, this week’s prompt at Magpie Tales, immediately put me in mind of serenity. Also, while the plate may be Chinese in origin, it also made me think of the ancient Japanese poetic form called tanka.
Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for at least 1300 years. As a form of poetry, tanka is older than haiku, and tanka poems are evocative.
During Japan’s Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) it was considered essential for a woman or man of culture to be able to both compose beautiful poetry and to choose the most aesthetically pleasing and appropriate paper, ink, and symbolic attachment—such as a branch, a flower—to go with it.
Tanka have changed and evolved over the centuries beyond the traditional expressions of passion and heartache, and styles have changed to include modern language — but the form of five syllabic units containing a total of 31 syllables has remained the same.
Each line of a tanka consists of one image or idea. One does not seek to “wrap” lines in tanka, though in the best tanka, the five lines flow seamlessly into one thought or feeling.
This particular visual prompt also sparked my recall of a simple, but wonderful piece of art I discovered a few years back, entitled “Blue Temple” by Vorffy.
So here I present my tanka entitled “Blue Temple”, including for your pleasure, the Vorfffy art piece of the same name.
•
birds in the blue sky
sampans on the blue waters
blue temple gateways
serenity is sacred
approach with your heart open
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
May 14th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Rob, this is perfect ~ perfect!
May 14th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Lovely, Rob.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I love the cool, peaceful blueness of this piece. It pairs perfectly with Vorffy’s image. Thanks for the bit of background on tanka, as well.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
A very serene tanka. I like the picture, too. I’m sure it is easier to attach a picture to a poem than it is to attach a willow branch.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Approach with your heart open - yes! And how could you do otherwise in such a beautiful place?
May 14th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Hi Rob, nice tanka! I hadn’t even heard of tankas till you introduced them to me, so thanks for that too! It painted such a lovely picture…can’t wait for more!
May 15th, 2010 at 5:00 am
your tanka is great…it captures the essence of the plate…great magpie!
May 15th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Calm and beautiful, still and graceful, set in space.
Christine
May 15th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Dear Rob: Zen tanka. Thank-you!
May 15th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
If life were only that beautiful and that easy…or maybe that is the point….it is and we just need only open up our hearts.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Rob ~ This piece evokes peace. Namaste.
May 17th, 2010 at 12:46 am
I was wondering on how you would approach this one — I knew it would be different then all the rest…
A beautiful Tanka — a Zen moment in time –
Joanny
May 17th, 2010 at 9:52 am
It’s so blue…in a good way!
May 17th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
“approach with heart open”..always good advice..thank you..lovely.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
cool job!
May 18th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
A good history lesson and reflection on the Magpie Tale.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:15 am
I like this one, both poem and image.