we are never ready (tanka)

Comments: 45

Shira C. Oct 12, 2009, 3:52pm EDT

You have definitely grasped the tanka form!!! I find myself trying to turn them into Japanese. samuku naru aki de... Nice poem.

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:46pm EDT

Arigato Shira-san, I am honored by your generous compliment.

reply to this comment

Marilyn is looking for whatever there is. N. Oct 12, 2009, 3:54pm EDT

Ohhh, Atticus*,

I know... and empathize.

This is featured in Gather Writing Essentials, Monday,

Hugs,

Mar~

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:47pm EDT

Thank you Marilyn, I greatly appreciate the feature and your kind words.

reply to this comment

Cheryl W. Oct 12, 2009, 4:04pm EDT

a wonderful autumn gem...:)

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:47pm EDT

Thank you Cheryl

reply to this comment

Elizabeth O. Oct 12, 2009, 4:05pm EDT

You have pecans ~ we have hickory nuts on the ground...so many in fact, you could break a leg walking over them. This is after hearing them hit the porch roof sounding like artillery.

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:51pm EDT

Thanks Elizabeth, yes we have seven huge pecan trees. Our yard is always full of one form of pecan dropping or other. If it is not the beards, nuts and hulls. If it is not the nuts, it is the branches that break with every moderately strong wind. I love them, but honestly, pecans belong in a pasture!

reply to this comment

tamerlane f. Oct 12, 2009, 4:06pm EDT

This is beautiful, Atticus... It reminds me of the bitter-sweetness of life and love, and the disappointment and loss that attend even the best of times...x t

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:52pm EDT

Thank you for your kind words tamerlane. I appreciate that you got the sentiment exactly as I intended.

reply to this comment

Purrrrrrrrrrr~Genki dashite~Nantoka naru-yo! S. Oct 12, 2009, 4:27pm EDT

exquisite in simplicity you build complexity~

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:53pm EDT

Thank you so much my exquisite friend Purrrrrrrrrrr

reply to this comment

Purrrrrrrrrrr~Genki dashite~Nantoka naru-yo! S. Oct 12, 2009, 4:27pm EDT

Thanks for posting to GutterGirls~

reply to this comment

Chris Brockman Oct 12, 2009, 4:58pm EDT

"Bitter green"--an interesting juxtaposition for autmn.

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:54pm EDT

Hi Chris, thanks so much for your comment. Texas is the land of juxtaposition when it comes to the seasons.

Barbary Chaapel Oct 23, 2009, 9:36pm EDT

Love that new and interesting description - bitter green.

reply to this comment

JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Oct 12, 2009, 6:18pm EDT

A perfect little pleasurable read.

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:55pm EDT

Thank you so much Little Red. :-)

reply to this comment

THE REVEREND CRIPES Oct 12, 2009, 7:03pm EDT

tanka, tanka very much...

sorry, couldn't resist, i've withheld myself from trying any discipline in poetry...i'm ignant that way...but you, sir, never disappoint

Atticus *. Oct 12, 2009, 7:55pm EDT

No, tanka you, Brad!

reply to this comment

Dianna Doles-Petry Oct 12, 2009, 9:12pm EDT

Very, very, well done!

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 8:43am EDT

Thank you so much Dianna

Dianna Doles-Petry Oct 13, 2009, 9:50am EDT

You are more than welcome!

reply to this comment

Georgiana S. Oct 12, 2009, 9:27pm EDT

a tanka, not heard of this, thanks!

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 8:43am EDT

Thanks Georgiana. Tanka is a haiku on steroids.

reply to this comment

Kushal Poddar Oct 12, 2009, 10:22pm EDT

It is a tanka and tanka indeed. You perfectly divided the kami-no-ku and the shimo-no-ku.

traffic of feelings

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 8:42am EDT

Thanks so much Ku. I find this form (tanka) to be a fascinating exercise because of the unique tension one must create between the two parts of the poem.

Kushal Poddar Oct 13, 2009, 8:48am EDT

Many misses it.
Right now I am commenting on Concert Pitch on the other site.

traffic of feelings

reply to this comment

JOHN BECK Oct 12, 2009, 10:35pm EDT

Good one, Atticus. We don't have pecans, but the critters definitely share our harvest!

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 8:40am EDT

I've had to transplant entire squirrel families to the lake before. One they ate the wiring in my jeep - twice in a row! We are going to be buried in pecans this year with all the rain we've had.

JOHN BECK Oct 13, 2009, 9:31am EDT

We had a red squirrel get into the house and do a lot of damage.

Barbary Chaapel Oct 23, 2009, 9:40pm EDT

Someone nibbled on our electric extension cord that lights the Christmas tree in the front yard. Who in the world would like that to eat!

JOHN BECK Oct 23, 2009, 9:49pm EDT

My dad's sump pump wires were eaten by a muskrat years ago. Just about any rodent could do that.

reply to this comment

Kathryn E. Oct 13, 2009, 2:03am EDT

Atticus.... your poems and a few others' poems here really get to me.

Featured in the Triple Name Club.

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 8:48am EDT

Kathryn, Thank you so much my dear friend.

reply to this comment

Mustafa Demiri Oct 13, 2009, 11:32pm EDT

At least you get something edible of your trees... we get acorns in my yard.

This is indeed a lovely autumnal tanka.

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 11:46pm EDT

I'm so sick of pecans

Atticus *. Oct 13, 2009, 11:46pm EDT

Actually they are quite good. But I just can't pick them all up. besides- I'm more of a walnut fan myself

reply to this comment

Anne B. Grote Oct 14, 2009, 7:04am EDT

I love tanka and this one describes the season so well.

Atticus *. Oct 14, 2009, 9:43pm EDT

Thank you Anne

reply to this comment

Laura M. Oct 14, 2009, 2:56pm EDT

Gorgeous tanka and poetic embrace of the transitional forces that
highlight Fall's unique closure to seasons of growth. I. too, live in
the country where nut trees and squirrels and deer are creating lively
theater in my trees and yard. Being a nut fan, I mourn the loss of
any discarded pecan that didn't make it into a pie. The sensory
huighlighting of the bitter "green" hullls, the last vestige of verdant
expression, is a captivating contrast to the rusted earth tones
that color this seasons breaths. Thank you!

Atticus *. Oct 14, 2009, 9:55pm EDT

Laura. Thanks so much for the care you took with this poem and your careful reading. I like very much that you see nature as "lively theatre". I do too.

reply to this comment