Tanka (Vastness)
Perspective28 total reviews
Comment from Father Flaps
Very nice, Melissa! You picked out some terrific words for your tanka... "vastness/insignificance/awareness/smallness". Your pivot point, "insignificance", has implications to the preceding and following lines. It makes me think of Jodie Foster's speech when she tries to explain her character's feelings of smallness in the 1997 movie, "Contact"...
https://youtu.be/8CiG9Wgvyj0
She is a spectacular actress. This might be the best acting that I have ever witnessed.
I particularly liked your choice of words with "branding a smallness in me". Few of us are branded. Many need to be. We don't understand how the Creator of everything can be fixated on us, individually. We can't fathom His love for us.
I can't imagine the experience of being at the Grand Canyon or the landscape in your chosen picture. The closest I have been to the curvature of the earth was a Christian Service Brigade trip to Turtle Mountain, many miles behind Westfield. We had our "church" that Sunday morning on the very top where you could see around ten lakes and even the distant Saint John River. We wrote our names on a piece of paper, and put it in a bottle. Maybe it's still there, but I doubt it... "insignificance".
Nicely penned! Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Kimbob
reply by the author on 15-Jan-2022
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Very nice, Melissa! You picked out some terrific words for your tanka... "vastness/insignificance/awareness/smallness". Your pivot point, "insignificance", has implications to the preceding and following lines. It makes me think of Jodie Foster's speech when she tries to explain her character's feelings of smallness in the 1997 movie, "Contact"...
https://youtu.be/8CiG9Wgvyj0
She is a spectacular actress. This might be the best acting that I have ever witnessed.
I particularly liked your choice of words with "branding a smallness in me". Few of us are branded. Many need to be. We don't understand how the Creator of everything can be fixated on us, individually. We can't fathom His love for us.
I can't imagine the experience of being at the Grand Canyon or the landscape in your chosen picture. The closest I have been to the curvature of the earth was a Christian Service Brigade trip to Turtle Mountain, many miles behind Westfield. We had our "church" that Sunday morning on the very top where you could see around ten lakes and even the distant Saint John River. We wrote our names on a piece of paper, and put it in a bottle. Maybe it's still there, but I doubt it... "insignificance".
Nicely penned! Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Kimbob
Comment Written 10-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 15-Jan-2022
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Thank you very much KB. I always ENJOY reading your reviews and the extra tidbits you share. Hugs, my friend.
Melissa
Comment from Carol Clark2
This is a good tanka. I like the pivot line of your poem. It's interesting that we feel so small and insignificant when we consider the vastness of creation, but we are significant in God's eyes. (Psalm 8) Blessings.
Carol
reply by the author on 09-Jan-2022
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This is a good tanka. I like the pivot line of your poem. It's interesting that we feel so small and insignificant when we consider the vastness of creation, but we are significant in God's eyes. (Psalm 8) Blessings.
Carol
Comment Written 06-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 09-Jan-2022
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Hello Carol... thanks so much for your thoughts and perceptions on my Tanka. I really appreciate your review and time. Psalms 8 is wonderful.
Melissa
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One of my favorite Psalms. Enjoyed your Tanka.
Carol
Comment from Mark D. R.
Melissa,
Visiting our National Parks, including the Grand Canyon, Arches, Yellowstone, etc., we often see these dramatic scenes you have ably talked about in this post.
We are just small cogs in our vast world.
Mark
P.S. My guess is that your illustration is Monument Valley.
reply by the author on 06-Jan-2022
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Melissa,
Visiting our National Parks, including the Grand Canyon, Arches, Yellowstone, etc., we often see these dramatic scenes you have ably talked about in this post.
We are just small cogs in our vast world.
Mark
P.S. My guess is that your illustration is Monument Valley.
Comment Written 06-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 06-Jan-2022
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Thanks Mark... I think you are right about the location. I really was impressed wtih the Grand Canyon!!
Melissa
Comment from Debbie Pope
Nice tanka, Melissa. I feel that way when I look at the ocean. I do feel insignificant and small. That's exactly how I feel. And, when there are so many people on this earth, it doesn't even make sense for people to feel self important.
reply by the author on 06-Jan-2022
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Nice tanka, Melissa. I feel that way when I look at the ocean. I do feel insignificant and small. That's exactly how I feel. And, when there are so many people on this earth, it doesn't even make sense for people to feel self important.
Comment Written 05-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 06-Jan-2022
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Thank you so much Debbie!! I am glad you enjoyed it, my friend!
Melissa
Comment from Gloria ....
Very nice pivot line, as it changes the perspective of the feeling of immense insignificance against the grand scheme of creation, particularly canyons.
A most enjoyable read today. :))
Gloria
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Very nice pivot line, as it changes the perspective of the feeling of immense insignificance against the grand scheme of creation, particularly canyons.
A most enjoyable read today. :))
Gloria
Comment Written 05-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Thank you very much Gloria!!
Melissa
Comment from Anne Johnston
"Immersing myself
into creation's vastness
insignificance
overwhelms my awareness
branding a smallness in me"
I can understand exactly what you are saying. We visited the Grand Canyon many years ago, and I will never forget how it made me feel.
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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"Immersing myself
into creation's vastness
insignificance
overwhelms my awareness
branding a smallness in me"
I can understand exactly what you are saying. We visited the Grand Canyon many years ago, and I will never forget how it made me feel.
Comment Written 05-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Thank you... it seems everyone that has seen it relates to my verse. Glad you could enjoy it.
Melissa
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You are welcome
Comment from BLACKTITANIUM86
That was a very creative way of saying that
you would rather be doing something of
of meaning , than to be doing
something that has no meaning at all. Keep writing
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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That was a very creative way of saying that
you would rather be doing something of
of meaning , than to be doing
something that has no meaning at all. Keep writing
Comment Written 05-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Thanks so much.
Comment from dragonpoet
Melissa,
This nicely written tanka shows some beautiful scenery. I can see why such open space and heights can make one feel small and insignificant. Just remember it is our duty to keep these views pristene.
Keep writing and stay healthy
Joan
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Melissa,
This nicely written tanka shows some beautiful scenery. I can see why such open space and heights can make one feel small and insignificant. Just remember it is our duty to keep these views pristene.
Keep writing and stay healthy
Joan
Comment Written 05-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 05-Jan-2022
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Thank you very much Joan!!
Melissa
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Don?t mention it, Melissa
Joan
Comment from lyenochka
Oh, I can imagine! And isn't it such a marvelous thing to have that humbling experience before nature? I think that's why many Asian paintings show humans as a tiny figure in the overall painting of natural places. Great use of the pivot from "immersing myself" to "branding a smallness in me."
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2022
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Oh, I can imagine! And isn't it such a marvelous thing to have that humbling experience before nature? I think that's why many Asian paintings show humans as a tiny figure in the overall painting of natural places. Great use of the pivot from "immersing myself" to "branding a smallness in me."
Comment Written 04-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2022
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Hello Helen. Thanks so much for your wonderful review. I am enjoying writing Tankas lately and I struggle to get the middle satori just write, but it is tricky sometimes. So glad you liked it. Thanks again.
Melissa
Comment from judiverse
Beautiful tanka. An excellent picture to illustrate your thought. The landscape seems to go on into infinity. Your words are well chosen to illustrate how a person can feel overwhelmed by such a vast scene. Insignificance seems to be your key word. In a way, man has the advantage. We have the ability to admire the scene, while the Canyon cannot admire itself. judi
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2022
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Beautiful tanka. An excellent picture to illustrate your thought. The landscape seems to go on into infinity. Your words are well chosen to illustrate how a person can feel overwhelmed by such a vast scene. Insignificance seems to be your key word. In a way, man has the advantage. We have the ability to admire the scene, while the Canyon cannot admire itself. judi
Comment Written 04-Jan-2022
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2022
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Hello Judi. Thanks so much for your wonderful review. I am enjoying writing Tankas lately and I struggle to get the middle satori just write, but it is tricky sometimes. So glad you liked it. I grinned at your thought the canyon cannot admire itself.. so true. :) Thanks again.
Melissa
