Tanka is a Japanese unrhymed poem having about 12 to 31 syllables usually arranged in five lines. The syllable count is 31 syllables OR LESS. The first English poets who wrote tanka imitated the Japanese models of a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure resulting in Tanka poems that were too long compared to Japanese tanka because Japanese syllables are shorter than English syllables. The third line transitions from the descriptive and image-focused beginning lines into a reflective metaphor, simile, or personification for the closing lines. The subject matter varies, but most tanka are emotionally stirring or profound, and many are about love.

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click here to read tanka society of America information


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Gypsy
"The poet waits quietly to paint the unsaid.

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