“Telling
Tales with Tankas” ~ Today’s poem is an ancient form of Japanese poetry,
“Tanka,” which has been called, “The Grandmother of Haiku.” This is one of the
oldest forms of poetry. It originated in Japan during the 7th century. Unlike
Haiku, which we will do later on and which tends to focus on nature, these
poems allow for emotional expression and were often written by both men and
women as private messages to their lovers. Tanka poems usually tell a short
little story about love, a moment, an event, a feeling, etc.
INSTRUCTIONS:
A “Tanka” poem is an unrhymed Japanese poem consisting of five lines ~
although, it’s kind of like some crazy “run-on” sentence as only the first word
of the first line is capitalized and the period goes at the end of the very
last word of the last line, with no need for commas along the way. OR, you can
get away with even less than that as I have read some instructions that say
there is to be NO punctuation of any kind in a Tanka poem. So, up to you; the
beginning and the end or none at all.
Tanka is generally written in two parts or ideas. The first three lines
comprise one part, and the last two lines are the second part;
kind of the end result of the first three lines. (The first three lines tend to
describe what happened, what was felt and/or feared, etc., while the last two
lines tend to represent a resolution or lesson learned). But there is no space
between the five lines of the poem.
This poem is distinguished by the number of lines and syllables instead of
rhyme. Please take care to COUNT the syllables in the poem you create and only
use 5 lines. Tanka poems consist of 31 syllables in the following pattern:
Don’t forget
to use your trusty little syllable counter!! You might be surprised!
Line 1 = 5 syllables
Line 2 = 7 syllables
Line 3 = 5 syllables
Line 4 = 7 syllables
Line 5 = 7 syllables
You will probably have to go back and turn the beginning of
each line back into a lower-case letter as your word program is going to want
to capitalize the first letter of each line.
Here’s a weird little example for you. My only defense, I’m tired. That and the fact that ONCE, Jim did exactly what the poem says!!
on an adventure today
you were so quiet
lost deep in thought I should say
you paused and then drove back home
© 2025 Stephanie Abney
so she could do her business
time to bring her in
when she stretched out on the grass
just basking in the sunshine.
© 2025 Stephanie Abney
I pause at day’s end
and reflect on my blessings
I lead a charmed life
a grandchild climbs on my lap
that is all the proof I need.
© 2022 Stephanie Abney
PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any
poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not
be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson
or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the
comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They
are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their
original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is
understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them and
especially once they post them. Thanks so much!
*** Also, if you choose to post your poems
on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE
don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on
your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG
POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable
time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks
for respecting my work.
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