Entry 49: Tanku Poem

The Tanka poem is very similar to haiku, but Tanka poems have more syllables and they use simile, metaphor and personification. There is no rhyme scheme, and it is written in free verse, which is to say there is no specific pattern of stress, feet, or meter. It has very few distinct rules or boundaries. The only rule with a Tanka poem is that it has to have five lines and the five lines have to have the correct number of syllables.

Here is an example of a Tanka poem:

Line one - 5 syllables	Beautiful mountains
Line two - 7 syllables	Rivers with cold, cold water.
Line three - 5 syllables	White cold snow on rocks
Line four - 7 syllables	Trees over the place with frost
Line five - 7 syllables	White sparkly snow everywhere.

Tanka poems are written about nature, seasons, love, sadness and other strong emotions. This form of poetry dates back almost 1200 years ago.

It is important to use sharp, concrete images in your Tanka. Look at the example above: cold water, white cold snow on rocks, trees with frost, white sparkly snow. All of these are concrete images that really make you “see” the picture being described. The one fairly weak adjective use is “beautiful.” Beauty is an abstract idea, and it can mean different things to different people. It is also a rather general term, so it doesn’t tell us much. It is better to show what is beautiful about the mountain than to simply tell us that they are beautiful.

Please write three Tanka poems. Choose themes from above, or come up with your own theme. When you write your Tankas, try to make a very clear picture of something, some place, some event, or some person in your mind. Really visualize it—its colors, sounds shapes, motions, smells, and any other sensations you can remember. Don’t start to write until you can see a picture in your mind.

Tanku 1
Sky blinking yellow
Strangers walking on the street
Trees shaking lightly
Over the crowds of people
I look up towards the sky

Tanku 2
Sitting on the grass
Feeling the cold breeze pass by
Watching the kids play
Under the scorching bright sun
I sit in silence, thinking

Tanku 3
Hearing Sarah talk
Makes me want to laugh out loud
She likes to act smart
Making her very nerdy
She's the nerd of juniors