Tanka is my favorite Japanese poetic form. It's a romantic and passionate poem. It was created in the 8th century and used in the Japanese Imperial Court where lovers exchanged a tanka after a night together. The best tanka poets are women. I feel a kinship with these women tanka poets. After all this time, is still relatable.
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Rules: Tanka is a Japanese unrhymed poem having about 12 to 31 syllables usually arranged in five lines. The syllable count is 31 syllables OR LESS. Japanese use a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure but English are usually less syllables than that because Japanese syllables are shorter than English syllables. The third line is usually used to transition from the top descriptive lines to the image-focused reflective metaphor, simile, or personification for the closing lines. The subject matter varies, but most tanka are emotionally stirring or profound, and many are about love.


click here if you want to read modern tanka examples


click here to read Tanka Society of America


SENRYU is a Japanese short unrhymed poem that uses imagistic language to express the essence of a deeply felt moment in time. Unlike Haiku, senryu is about human nature and doesn't need a season word. It resonates on a deeper level, leaving the reader enlightened and making an insightful connection between the top two lines and the last one, called the SATORI. It's written in 17 syllables OR LESS and three lines.

Thank you very much for reading and reviewing my poems.

Gypsy
"Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason." - Novalis

pictures from pinterest

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