In this post, I review Robbie Cheadle’s tanka. Her formal name is Roberta Eaton Cheadle and she has published books in several genre. Below, in the reference, are her weblinks to her sites which contain more details.
The poet wrote about the Blue Jacaranda, whose scientific name is Jacaranda mimosifolia. This tree has purple colored flowers. Wikipedia has a page on the Blue Jacaranda here. Her 5 tankas, compose a rensaku, about this tree. The tankas describe the tree’s life cycle, from its days of blooming glory, down to the flowers falling. The poet says it is an experience walking on fallen flowers with bare feet. The soft petals are a luxury to the feet.
Robbie presents two rensaku and one tanka prose. The Buffalo and Jacaranda Blue are rensakus while Family Gathering is a tanka prose. The prose is a single paragraph, like a prologue, which sets the scene, before the tanka starts. Being brief, the tanka can not afford to elaborate on the setting. This introduction is done by the prose.
I enjoyed reading the poet’s tankas. If I were to chose my favorite, I would pick Family Gathering. This is a brief introduction to the poet’s family background.
Reference
Sunflower Tanka. Into The Light – 1st Edition 2024. Compiled by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro.
Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s list of books can be found in https://writingtoberead.com/2024/12/18/treasuring-poetry-sunflower-tanka-an-anthology-of-tanka-tanka-prose-experimental-tanka-collated-by-colleen-m-chesebro-and-robbie-cheadle-poetry-treasuringpoetry/
Robbie Cheadle’s website: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2024/12/18/treasuring-poetry-sunflower-tanka-an-anthology-of-tanka-tanka-prose-experimental-tanka-collated-by-colleen-m-chesebro-and-robbie-cheadle/
Other pages of interest:
1. https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/my-other-blogs/
2. https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
3. https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/my-other-blogs/
