Year of the Tanka

The Poetry Gauntlet, a year-long workshop for the working poet, began at the end of January. Once a month, we converge for class at the Carnegie Center for Learning and Literacy in Lexington, Kentucky.

One of the first poetry forms we learned was a “tanka.”

According to Poets.org:

The tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line. A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka translates as “short song,” and is better known in its five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form.

History of the Tanka Form

One of the oldest Japanese forms, tanka originated in the seventh century, and quickly became the preferred verse form not only in the Japanese Imperial Court, where nobles competed in tanka contests, but for women and men engaged in courtship. The tanka’s economy and suitability for emotional expression made it ideal for intimate communication; lovers would often, after an evening spent together (often clandestinely), dash off a tanka to give to the other the next morning as a gift of gratitude.

I love that so much. Maybe it’s the songwriter in me but these tankas come flowing out (and sometimes out of nowhere) and it’s such a fun puzzle of words to decipher and create. I decided that I would write a tanka that encapsulated the essence of each month this year in 2024.

And, because I’ve been wanting to delve back into a passion for creating video content, I’ll eventually encapsulate them into motion pictures.

This one didn’t get a video but it has a photo to accompany the sentiment.

The front door view of a spectacular sunset. 18 Jan 2024.

January Tanka

As wide as the snowfall, January walked into the year as subtle and raw as she left it, planting in her footsteps seeds of intentions, promises, and even a little hope.