Tanka

Splendour Streaks

her territory

illuminates beneath the

starry sparkling skin

as his caliginous cloak

catapults strings of silver

The tanka pictures the scene of a meteor shower. The territory is that of the planet Earth and the cloak belongs to the sable sky.

The poem can also be conceived as an expression of love, wherein the act of a man who appears hard on the outside (dark cloak) opening up his soft inner self (silvery streaks) to his beloved would illuminate her world that is already sparkling with the bond they share.

Credits & Footnote

Inspired by Colleen’s ‘Tanka Tuesday #239’. 

Featured Image: Getty Images.

Dreams Take Flight

Have you had a night full of peaceful sleep that your eyelids just refuse to open, in spite of you being inspired with dreams of hope to have a productive day? I just had one such today. At such times, which dreams will you let take flight – the dreams of the night or those of the day? Today, sadly for me, it was the former.

Here are two takes on the same thought; each one is a verse of the poetic form – Naani.

——– Take 1 ——–

Her eyelids refuse 
to leave the bed of peace,
impeding determined dreams 
when it's time to take a flight.

Syllable count: 25

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Pearl

cohesive bivalves

wiggly irritant injures

crusty self-defense

eloquent protective shield

oyster yields a starry pearl

I had 3 different conceptions while framing this tanka, the first being the direct inference of the biological formation of a pearl in an oyster, and the second about a motivational stimulus. The third perspective, not associated with the entire tanka, is a euphemism with a human hermaphrodite.

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Twilight

crepuscular rays
popular daze of blue streaks
musical light show
stellar stars steal the party
as pendulous pearl proceeds

This tanka depicts the twilight scene when crepuscular rays take control of the sky after the sun sets. Alongside the chirping music of birds and the dynamic shades of light rays, stars arrive stealing the show with the moon that appears as a pearl in an unseen pendulum.

Credits & Footnote

In response to ‘Eugi’s Weekly Prompt’ – Twilight.

Also submitted to Colleen’s ‘Tanka Tuesday #233’. 

Featured Image:
Photo from ParallelVision from Pixabay.

Runaway Rabbit

waft of swishy wind
fluffy curls of wispy clouds
flamboyant bunny

rushes on the sky canvas
only to obliterate

Credits & Footnote

Inspired by Ronovan’s Haiku Prompt Words – Air and Wisp.

This tanka is also submitted to Colleen’s ‘Tanka Tuesday #228’. 

Featured Image Source: Pinterest.

Midnight Graffiti

Midnight Graffiti - tanka

hypnotic beauty
feeds my hunger in dark dome
one cold winter night
pulling me to a new world
immersed in her wilderness

This tanka is written from the perspective of an adventurer experiencing Northern lights for the first time. The verse uses this elusive journey as a metaphor for fondness or passion in love.

Credits & Footnote

Inspired by Colleen’s ‘Tanka Tuesday #227’. 

Tanka Tuesday Logo - Monthly Agenda

Featured Image:
Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash.

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Quote Of The Week

Nocturnal Love

magician strolls sky
exotic garden of night
tenderness unfurls
bosom of moon blossoms bloom
nocturnal love glows in dark

This is my first attempt at writing a Tanka.

➟ Tanka – Brief History

Tanka (a poetic form with 5/7/5/7/7 syllables) poems are ideal dictions of intimate and deep emotions and act as secret letters expressing love, gratitude, self-reflection, or desire. Unlike haiku, Tanka lets ample visualization with the use of metaphors, personifications, and similes.

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