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We were asked to write some haiku -- a verse of three lines and seventeen syllables with five syllables in the first and last line and seven syllables in the second line. The more experienced writers in the group, were also asked to write some tanka. This is a more complex verse form. There are five lines. The first and the third line have five syllables and the other lines all have seven syllables.

 

So for haiku, the syllable count is 575 and for tanka the syllable count is 57577. Haiku turned out to be quite easy (and quite addictive). But tanka were surprisingly dificult...

Haiku

Toilet duck quacking
Water swirls on porcelain.
Featherless quiet.

 

Second hand ticking.
Third hand slowly revolving.
First hand back in time.

 

Only one dancer.
Neglecting Martian sunset.
Dawn full of darkness

 

Soprano high notes.
Barrel chested bass low notes
Beautiful music.

 

Leaf grows through fence gap.
Soon a tree will follow it.
Then there is no fence.

 

Fruit in a basket
Time passes, mould spreads, fruit rots.
Flies crawl across it.

 

Big dog walking tall
Reads pee mail conversations.
Social media.

 

Liquid rubies shine.
Overtones and aromas.
Wine swirls in a glass.

 

Never ending rain.
Saturated soil revolts.
Ducks swim further now.

 

Garage door is stuck.
Car must stay out in the rain.
At least it gets cleaned.

 

Tanka

There is no sunshine.
Only grey and solid sky.
Rain falls down from it.
Forty days and forty nights.
Weather teaches how to count.

 

Dog is fast asleep.
There are no walks in the rain.
Sleeping passes time.
Sleeping stops dog chasing cat.
Cat says sleeping dog must lie.

 

Waiting for the words.
Staring at empty pages.
Other people’s words
Live in other people’s books.
All those words – none of them mine.

Updated software.
Look and feel is not the same.
All the rules have changed.
Clickety, clickety click.
Now the universe reboots.


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