I have been reading up on poetry forms. (Don't ask me why - blame it on lots of time in my last few days here!) And decided to try my hand... results are as good as a child's first attempt at baking. Overdone crust and Undone insides. But well, persistence and shamelessness are traits I was born with - and I give thee a chance to sample my trials.
Haiku
Is a form of Japanese poetry with a 5 - 7 – 5 syllable pattern (traditionally). Poems are succinct, convey precise information and create a word picture in your head. Japanese haikus also have strict rules on usage of certain words - each word should convey a season, like a cherry blossom connotes spring etc. Basho and Buson are regarded the Haiku geniuses. English Haikus are not so rigid. Poems are three lines in length. The creation of a mental image is the only "rule".
Now I see her face,
the old woman, abandoned,
the moon her only companion
- Basho
More on Basho -
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/5022/basho.html
Tanka
Is another ancient form of Japanese poetry, dating to almost 1200 years ago. All occasions in Japan used to be marked by writing of a 'tanka'. Young men and women used to be judged not by the artistry of the poem alone, but also by the paper used, the syllables chosen, the kind of ink and the choice of symbolic attachment it went with(a flower blossom, a branch etc) The syllabic pattern is 5-7-5-7-7. Tankas are becoming popular in English too, with 5 lines of poetry expressing a thought, a season etc.
all day
rain has come down
drop by drop
the pain of your absence
has penetrated me
-Keith McMahen
Some more American Tankas -
http://www.americantanka.com/samples.html
Now that I have given 'gyaan' (!) herez my take on these two... on the topic that is plaguing my mind - my boss refusing to give me a relieving date from here, and anyways, after he does, then what?
Resignation Letter
Request Release Date
Pleading, Cajoling, Threatening
Boss refuses to budge.
Resignation.
Courageously Quit Office
Long Live the Revolution
Freedom, no job?
interesting
ReplyDeletebtw liked the fight club thing- so true and scary. why city, once i had a fellow selling bicuits at my door in the apartment- now entry without permission is not allowed so i started scolding him., theopposite neighbour (man) simply banged his door shut- tenant he is but seeing me (lady) battling that dirty looking man for the good of the apartment complex- why cudn't he give his 2 bit?
the first time i've come across such forms of poetry. strange that there are restrictions on how one can write up the poems. but the styles give it such a vivid fresh imagery.
ReplyDelete# ITW: I so hate these 'i-don't-care-about-anyone-else-but-met' people. I suppose his moralities are not screwed on correctly.
ReplyDelete# Blogerazzi: Thanks. You seem to be the only one who likes my attempts. Appreciate the encouragement!
# SunnyblueSkies: Yup, thats the speciality of these styles.