According to Wikipedia, Tanka (短歌, “short poem”) is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.
A Tanka consists of 5 lines and 31 syllables. Each line has a set number of syllables see below:
Line 1 – 5 syllables
Line 2 – 7 syllables
Line 3 – 5 syllables
Line 4 – 7 syllables
Line 5 – 7 syllables
This is my 95th poem of 2017 and I am well on my way to putting together a collection of poems to reflect the struggles of disabled people in 21st century Britain. I would like to publish these poems in a book to be released in 2018, and I am close to finding a team of illustrators to help me add images to my words and create the type of book that I envisage. I am speaking with students from Glyndwr University who are interested in collaborating with me on this exciting project. More details when available.
On Friday I was accused of being a conformist for strictly adhering to the rules of writing a Tanka. We cant have that as I pride myself on being a non-conformist so I will consider breaking out of the poetic shackles in the near future.
Moral victory
So close, yet so far away
Rivals in tatters
In cahoots with terrorists
While we strengthen our platform
