Tanka Tuesday 324 — Thunderbird Rise


Terri Webster Schrandt

Great Sun called us forth
as man crawled from wet red clay.
We came to dwell here,

perched in western sky,
twixt realm messengers, with eyes
attuned to slithers.

Black knotted hungers
multiply, feast on weary
souls drained of spirit.

We rise from Great Mountain
thundered flaps, eyes lightning flash
snakes poof, thin smoke.

Souls cleared, bright again
our wings outstretched silhouette
on father’s gold orb.

This form is micropoetry in 17-syllable stanzas, with title.

Colleen Chesebro is the host of Tanka Tuesday.  Colleen says:
Incorporate the symbolism or mythology of … the Phoenix, the Thunderbird, or the Eagle into your poem. Remember if you write a freestyle poem, you must add a syllabic poem too.

39 Comments Add yours

  1. mizuv's avatar Paula Light says:

    Trippy! 😍

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks, Paula! I went to wiki and read up on the myth and this is what bubbled up.

      Liked by 2 people

  2. This is very cool! A little of thunderbird and eagle mixed in–how myths are created!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks, Terri, and just read that you painted it. What an awesome project.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I can just imagine how the ancients saw eagles and created mythology through drawings and carvings, then eventually the written word. Thank you Ms Jade, I had always wanted a totem pole of my own once we moved the the PNW and was elated when I found this at a furniture store and painted it.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I’m reading American Gods right now and Thunderbirds are playing their part in the chapter I’m up to

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

        Oh really? Is that written by Gaiman?

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Yes it is. It’s great

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

            Even though I’ve never read his work, I have a bad association with it. I know someone made a series on it. If anyone could convince me to read Neil Gaiman, it would probably be you. What is so good about his writing that would make me make an effort to override that bad association and give him a chance?

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Well American Gods in particular was inspired by and Englishman (Neil himself) taking a road trip across the US to see the old parts of the continent not the big brands and the big business. As a country made up of immigrants from all over the world the idea is you get a bit of Norse myth. Some African folk stories, Eastern European fables and a commentary on the multimedia age woven together like it’s a Highlander type adventure. With Gaiman overall I like his characters voices. He is good at dialogue. And I like stories driven by dialogue.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

                I appreciate the synopsis. One more question and then I promise to quit bugging you. Do you get an underlying feeling of darkness about the way he writes?

                Liked by 1 person

                1. Yes. I do. I like writers who paint with dark moods

                  Liked by 1 person

                2. And you’re not bugging me, this is social media

                  Liked by 1 person

      2. That’s really interesting, Steve. Thanks for the comment!

        Liked by 3 people

  3. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

    Good take my friend.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

        You’re most welcome

        Liked by 1 person

  4. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:

    I love the image in that last stanza especially. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Awesome, I was considering the thunderbird too but decided upon the eagle. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks much, Marje. It was tough to decide on which one of the 3 to write for me also.

      Like

  6. Lisa, this is stunning! Your words drew me into the mystique of a creation myth! This just goes to show that micro-poetry is effective at story telling. I found the comments from Steve about Gaiman’s book interesting too.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks for the kind words and the thoughtful feedback. Glad you found Steve’s comments interesting :)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re welcome, Lisa.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Jules's avatar Jules says:

    I think it was Hellerman who wrote about the Navajo policeoffice and taught readers about Native Peoples beliefs in the process… That’s where your lovely verse took me :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Oh how lovely, so happy to have taken you there, Jules <3

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jules's avatar Jules says:

        Hubby now says the author was (Tony) Hillerman… :D

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

          OK thank you/hub for the heads up :)

          Liked by 1 person

  8. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:

    Great picture you painted Lisa.

    Like

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Max, thank you, much appreciated. I watched 2 more TOS last night and will be caught up in no time :)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:

        I just wrote the last Star Trek post yesterday to post on August 26th…Now all I have to do is the seasons reviews…2 and 3. Now I’m going back over them again…just to enjoy.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

          Max, I appreciate all of the time you’ve taken to research, write, post, and keep the conversation going on the series. Thank you for going that extra mile for your readers. I daresay you could publish it all as a book. Will you think about it?

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:

            I appreciate it Lisa! But I don’t have the gift of…what do you call it? Describing episodes or music for that matter…I love the trivia though. My problem is I get straight to the point…I’ve never been able to use adjectives about each moment. Some reviews I’ve read use a entire page describing scenes…I’ve never been able to do that.
            But I apprecite being appreciated!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

              I think you underrate your abilities. Not all books need to be prose. There are lots of books that are trivia tidbits only! Just sayin…

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:

                Oh ok…that I could do. Trivia is what I like best about every subject.

                Liked by 1 person

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