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 140th 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. Two of the talented artists who have agreed to illustrate my work are Julie Rogers-Owen and Heather Wilson. Samples of their work can be found by clicking on their names. There are other artists involved but I do not have links to their work at the moment. I hope to rectify this soon.
I am not a sheep
Who follows the mindless flock
I’m the unique one
A man of true principle
Laughing at conformist fools
