aromatic steam
rises from a matcha bowl
waiting for your lips
to press against porcelain
sweet taste of jasmine flowers
our tantric dancing
trips the light of galaxies
we are earth and moon
cheek to cheek and face to face
inhaling each other’s breath
when we last parted
soft drumming of rain on leaves
was the only sound
the echo of your footsteps
already a memory
Kim M. Russell, 21st May 2020
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar: 5-Line Japanese Forms
Frank T is our host for today’s Meeting the Bar, where we are celebrating National Tanka Month, or NaTankaMo and focusing on three 5-line Japanese forms: tanka, kyoka and gogyohka
Frank reminds us that tanka enjoys a long history in Japan and has given us a background to the form. Similar to haiku, tanka consist of concrete images and similar line structuring, but they were written by a different range of poets, from courtiers to emperors, and were used to express love and devotion.
On the other hand, kyoka are more like senryu, a five-line form of parody poetry, exploring human nature, usually in as satirical a way as possible.
Gogyohka is a relatively new form of five-line poetry. Unlike tanka and kyoka, it has no structural requirements or thematic tendencies; it only needs to be written in five lines.
writing in north norfolk 
This is so visual! I love the fact that I could feel the steam from the Matcha as well as taste it. I could feel this entire environment. Very lovely!
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Thank you so much for reading and for your kind comments.
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Masterful, Kim! As evocative, and intimate, as any Heian era waka I’ve read! I’m undone! Brava!
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That’s high praise indeed, Frank! I’m blushing.
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You have a knack for the form, Kim. This is magnificent. ❤
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That’s so kind of you, Lisa. 😉
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My pleasure.
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Beautifully done Kim, I love the warmth in this sequence and the gentle sounds brought in through ‘soft drumming of rain on leaves’ xxx
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Thank you, dear Xenia. 🙂 xxx
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This is just beautiful. A pleasure to read.
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I’m delighted you like it, Carol.
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So evocative, sensual and exotic; literally the perfection of Asian perspective. I liked “Our tantric dancing trips the lights of galaxies.”
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Thank you, Glenn.
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A really nice poem filled with emotion and imagery!
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Thanks Dwight!
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Very beautiful and visual poem.
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Thank you, Julian.
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Had to read this through a few times, just for the continued pleasure.
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Thank you so much, Maggie!
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Nice line: “inhaling each other’s breath” Especially with the masks some of us still wear today.
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Thanks Frank!
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A whole story here. Lovely!
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Thanks Merril. They were all written separately, but they just seemed to go together.
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They do!
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Poignant and lovely.
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Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #5: Kim Russell’s latest #tanka sequence for #dVersePoets #MTB!
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Thank you kindly for the reblog, Frank!
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My pleasure, Kim! 🙂
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What gorgeous micro-poems inside the poem:
“our tantric dancing
trips the light of galaxies
we are earth and moon”
“when we last parted
soft drumming of rain on leaves”
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Thank you, Shawna!
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That last stanza is wondrous!
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Thanks Bev!
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The second stanza is my favorite…cosmic and romantic all at once. (K)
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Thanks Kerfe!
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I love the imagery in the first stanza!
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Thank you!
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Absolutely lovely
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Thank you so much!
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The sequence is lovely, but I especially liked the last stanza, with its emotional ambivalence.
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The last one is the new one and the one I like best, too. Thank you, Sarah!
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I’m dittoing Frank! And I really love the picture with it . Your poem brought it to life with color and texture.
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Thank you, Christine.
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Your tanka are spectacular … going to have chills for a while!
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Thank you for such a lovely comment, Helen!
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This is a beautiful sequence Kim.
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The longing in your last verse is perfect for the sensual nature of the first two.
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Thank you, Ken!
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Beautifully romantic, Kim…like tanka should be!
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Thank you, Lynn!
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My pleasure…truly.
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Aah! Loved the title, and the series didn’t disappoint. A treat to the senses. Awesome!
Pat
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Cheers Pat!
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kaykuala
the echo of your footsteps
already a memory
Little things mean a lot. Most alluring take, Kim!
Hank
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Thanks Hank!
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This is evocative and poignant! Love especially the last,stanza.
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Thank you, Mary!
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Wow, perfectly captures a moment like a snapshot.
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Thank you!
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Computer packed up for a rest before I got to yours yesterday (working backwards).
These have such an authentic Japanese-in-translation feel. My favourite is the third one though, which is the most earthy, to my mind. Lovely!
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Thank you, Jane!
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sounds like a ‘day in the life of a Geisha’ … love this!
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Thank you, Kate!
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welcome!
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