"I have crossed oceans of time to find you." - Dracula, Bram Stoker

thirst and infinite longing
through the wavering path
in the dark riverbanks
where eternal blood flows
and savage hunger


Tanka is my favorite Japanese poetic form. It's meant to be romantic and passionate. It was created in the 8th century and used in the Japanese Imperial Court. It was used for lovers after a night together, each one wrote a tanka poem for the other. Most of the tanka poets are women. I feel a kinship with these women who were as passionate as I am.
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 in comparison 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. click here if you want to read modern tanka examples === click here to read Tanka Society of America === click here if you want to read modern tanka rules

Thank you very much for your time and kind review.

Gypsy
"The poet waits quietly to paint the unsaid.

pictures from pinterest

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