Note: I'd thought there had been a post on this form earlier, but I could not locate it. If I'm incorrect, please let me know.
Tanka is a Japanese form of poetry of 31 onji; the closest we Americans come to that is to think in terms of 31 syllables. The lines are generally 5,7,5,7,7 syllables in length -- or preferably less -- short-long-short-long-long. I'm told that the earlier tanka shifted rhythm after the 12th onji; the more modern ones de-emphasize the location of shift or switch after the 17th. At any rate, here are some of my own attempts, for whatever they may be worth:
Stumbling Stumbling into growth may be bloody painful stuff, but scars remind me this vulnerability opens my heart to loving. © MLee Dickens'son 05 July 2002
Jesus’ Earthy Dad kept her a virgin miraculous conception of Mary’s Joseph whose union was further blessed: four sons and unnamed daughters © MLee Dickens'son12 Dec 2003
- Matthew 1:25; Mark 6:3
annuals vs. perennial ‘lovers’ seek to come seasoned and with wild bouquet pretending to root; a love is but one… who blooms when planted in nurtured ground
© MLee Dickens'son 18 Dec 2003
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