Writing Tip: Poetry Form – Tanka

By Raja's Insight on April 2, 2017 • ( 1 )

Photo Credit: Donna J. Sanders

Poetry Form: Tanka

A Tanka is a Japanese poem and similar to a Haiku, however it has seven lines. Tankas are nature, seasons, love, and other emotions. Line one has a five syllable count, line two is seven syllables, line three is five syllables, line four is seven syllables, and line five seven syllables. In total it has thirty one syllables. It uses simile, metaphor, and personification.

The pattern for Tanka is the following:

Line 1: 5 syllables

Line 2: 7 syllables

Line 3: 5 syllables

Line 4: 7 syllables

Line 5: 7 syllables

Example:

The Black Holocaust

The Black Holocaust

They say it doesn’t exist

Burned bodies don’t lie

DNA charred from C4

Murdered by the privileged

Eleven souls gone

The Martyrs of a movement

Forced to go back in

Black lives didn’t matter then

Still don’t…Thirty years later

In Memory of those murdered…

MOVE thirty years later…

Written By: Jody Austin

About the Author

Jody’s mother was and is still a poet and artist who introduced her to poetry and expressive writing as a child in elementary school. Her bed time stories were of Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Marcus Garvey, Phylis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Chavez, Gil Scott Heron, Khalil Gibran, The Last Poets, and many others. All of these influences started Jody’s creative writing experiences as a child and throughout her adulthood.

Visit Author Page At: www.ctupublishinggroup.com/jody-austin-.html

Now Available in Paperback $10.95

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Contributing Authors: Donna J. Sanders, Author of Ataraxia, Cardboard Signs, Devour Me, and Charcoal Kisses Jody Austin, Author of This Is My Pen, Volume 1 Laura Marie Clark, Author of City of The World Raja Williams, Author of The Journey Along The Way & Imprints In The Sand.

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