Tanka and Haiku Poets, Essay Example

Tanka
The Sight of the flowers.
The sight of the flowers has worked a changed in my heart, but I will take care to show nothing in my face-lest someone should find it out.

The following Tanka is a simply written yet complexly structured piece which relates to the philosophy of nature and its relevance to humans inner feelings.  The sight of the flowers in this poem has made the individual sad and upset because the subsequent line says that the individual will not let anyone find out. The Tanka, however, can also have a different meaning: the person was too happy but would not let anyone find out. It is less likely that the person was in fact happy, since happiness is more of a commonality than sadness and people much rather prefer to depict happiness.

Tanka
Thought I go to you.
Thought I go to you ceaselessly along dream paths, the sum of those trysts is less than a single glimpse granted in the waking world.

This Tanka evokes a feeling of shortage of love and the absence of someone who one wanted to see, as the author says, “ceaselessly.” This Tanka speaks of missing someone. Sadly, however, that opportunity is absent so the individual hopes to see the other “along dream paths” which is also absent. The author concludes that the total times of seeing the other is less than one in the real world is not even one. It evokes a feeling of sadness and absence of love and missing someone where something is so unreal.

Haiku
After bells had rung.
After bells had rung and were silent..flowers chimed a peal of fragrance.

This Haiku is interestingly taking a more of a nature-relevant approach where the concept relates to things of the world and natural things that occur. Oddly one can say that the ringing of bells and flowers chiming fragmented are irrelevant, yet one can see that both are things of nature and subsequently occurred, hand in hand and this evokes a feeling of carefulness so one can take note of these things and a feeling of appreciating nature in its own way.