Spring Tanka
More short stuff, an english ‘tanka’ this time.
Tanka O Kiru
(啖呵を切る)
Snowflakes are alright
to look at. Just so long as
you’re only looking.
But then count yourself lucky
if you find any in March.
The title is a transliterated pun; literally ‘clearing the tanka’, originally the phrase described the act of pushing the guard of a sword up in its scabbard so that the blade might then be drawn in a single, swift motion – obviously an extremely confrontational gesture akin to cocking a gun. According to Wikipedia, in which I trust absolutely, “This expression has become widely used in Japan in the sense of ‘getting ready to begin something’ or ‘getting ready to speak’, usually with an aggressive connotation”.
10 Mar 2007 16:35
| 
Tags: Poetry
| 
Comments (2)
| 
Report a problem
Loading…
You do flex your poetic muscles in all sorts of directions, Mr Brookes. I can’t help but see you as some sort of template for immaculate living.
30 Mar 2007, 20:51
Nicely done Sir, keep posting the poetry :).
04 Apr 2007, 02:02
Add a comment
You are not allowed to comment on this entry as it has restricted commenting permissions.