Bermuda, Tanaga Me

lillian

*Tanaga – part of an oral tradition going back to the early 16th century. Stanzas of four lines, seven syllables per line; rhyming each line of a stanza on the same rhyme sound.

Just my tanaga and me
watching the dawn blissfully.
Sailboats rest upon the sea
kiskadees sing from a tree.

Fingers tap relentlessly
counting sevens, never three.
Overhead the gulls fly free
soaring, flapping gleefully.

This place holds a history
many a catastrophe.
Shipwrecks buried ‘neath the sea
part of lore and memory.

For all things Bermudaful
for friendships and nature too,
my spirit ever grateful
sadly I must bid adieu.

IMG_9534I shot this panoramic at Horseshoe Bay on the south shore of Bermuda, said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We’ve spent at least a month of our past four Boston winters in Bermuda and have come to love the beauty of the country and its people. This is our last year here — as we move on to other adventures next year.

Posted for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, where Frank introduces us to the Tanaga form. He indicates it comes from the Tagalog language of the Philippines, and does say we may take poetic freedom with the rhyming scheme, which I do in the final stanza.

27 thoughts on “Bermuda, Tanaga Me”

    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 8:55 am

      It’s been a wonderful and bermudaful month!

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  2. Frank Hubeny March 30, 2018 / 1:04 pm

    I like the word “Bermudaful”. I have heard of the Bermuda triangle. One day maybe I’ll get there. Nice tanaga!

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    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 8:58 am

      Ah yes….Bermuda was an uninhabited island when the Sea Venture wrecked on its reefs and folks came ashore. No indigent people to convert or war with. They built another ship, the Deliverance, from the beautiful Bermuda cedar trees here and some time later, loaded with provisions they’d saved from the Sea Venture, and with turtles, birds, and bird eggs, and salted fish, they finally made their way on to Jamestown, only to find it decimated. They realized Bermuda was a wonderful place and many returned. The Bermuda triangle is much more frightening than the place itself.

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  3. Waltermarks March 30, 2018 / 2:49 pm

    Great tanaga, reminds me of beautiful days in the Florida Keys. I’m sorry to hear it’s your last stay. Hope you all find another hideaway.

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    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 8:59 am

      It is indeed beautiful! Yep — we’re looking at entering the history of Malta’s Valetta next February. Will be totally different….but that’s okay. Many memories we’ll fly home with on Friday!

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      • Waltermarks April 2, 2018 / 11:51 am

        Sounds like new adventure 🙂

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  7. Vivian Zems March 30, 2018 / 7:04 pm

    What a wonderful series of tanaga. The Bermuda tourist board ought to pay you for extolling such virtues. I must say, I envy you, your month stay in such surroundings- while the rest of us slaved and slogged away! 🙂 Very good one here 🙂

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  9. rothpoetry March 30, 2018 / 10:58 pm

    Beautiful Lillian. Those rocks like like they could be a shipwreck sticking out of the sand!
    Dwight

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    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 9:02 am

      The slanted ones, right? There are many many rock/dune cuts like that across the island….especially see them when we’re walking the old Railway Trail! 🙂

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  10. mhmp77 March 31, 2018 / 7:09 am

    ‘Sadly i bid adieu’ is a finality naturally following as all good things must end. Poignant thoughts well thought of, lillian

    Hank

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    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 9:02 am

      Yes….but we fly back home to Boston with four winters worth of Bermuda memories and many many photos of this Bermudaful place 🙂

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    • lillian April 2, 2018 / 9:04 am

      I was thrilled when we got home to see that the panoramic shot had worked. Shooting in the bright sun light with my iPhone and sun glasses on, I really didn’t know until then!

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  13. Colin Lee April 5, 2018 / 8:28 am

    This reads marvellously, Lillian. Trust you must have a blast in the land of the Bermudaful!

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