Poetry Challenge: Introducing the Tanka

Well, we’re moving on from cinquains, but there are a few more 5-line verse forms to explore.

The tanka is a five-line Japanese poem, that helped inspire the cinquain. It has five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the third, and then seven in each of the fourth and fifth.

Dragon Up

Overhead it flies

Catching thermals, finding wind

Its scales a-glitter

It searches the earth below

Seeking, not finding, keep low.

And here is a second attempt:

Modern Lurker

Under the stone bridge

While traffic roars overhead

Waiting in shadow

Murder gleams within troll's eyes

Within troll's heart evil lies.

Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one tanka for each day of the week. They don’t take a lot of time, but they can be a bit tricky. Here’s one way you might want to approach them:

• Decide on a topic;
• Think of words, phrases, feelings and ideas that relate to your topic and work out the order you want to express those things in;
• Work out how to express each idea in the right number of syllables for the line it’s on;
• Write your tanka;
• Check there are the right number of syllables on each line; and
• Centre the poem on your page.

Or you can just write them as you go, letting inspiration take you where it will, but remember to check your syllables and centre.