Saturday, March 04, 2006

Tanka series #3, "Dewdrop Soul"

copyright 2006, Paul Gonyea
This is the third of a set of images based on Japanese tanka poems. Tanka are similar to haiku, but have a different syllabic structure. They refer to nature and seasonal changes as a counterpoint to our lives as humans. In my images, as in the poems, ambiguity is important, as it allows viewers (or readers) to fit the imagery to their own circumstances. My goal is to complete a set of 20 tanka images.

This is "Dewdrop Soul". written by Fujiwara no Teika somewhere around the 12th or 13th centuries. You'll find the other two completed images also posted here (scroll down).