“In the Zone,” A Tanka

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inTanka Tuesday Poetry ChallengesTags:, , , , ,

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This is my contribution to my Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge using synonyms for the words destination and guide. I used Thesaurus.com to find a few suitable words to work with. I chose haven for destination and inspiration for guide.

I missed last week’s challenge and I struggled to get back into the poetry writing zone this week. Just goes to show you that if you get in the habit of flexing your poetry brain weekly, the words flow like water. At least I hope they do. 😀

Here are my instructions for writing a Tanka poem.

“The Japanese tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line. A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka translates as “short song,” and is better known in its five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form.

One of the oldest Japanese forms, tanka originated in the seventh century and quickly became the preferred verse form not only in the Japanese Imperial Court, where nobles competed in tanka contests but for women and men engaged in courtship…”

Click to Read: Poets.org – Tanka: Poetic Form to learn more about this ancient Japanese poetry created in the seventh century.

In the Zone

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When inspiration –
finds a creative haven
deep within my mind,
the magic of written words
flows with my intensity.

© 2018 Colleen M. Chesebro

122517_2210_ColleensBoo5.pngThanks for stopping by for a read! ❤

 

 

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

19 thoughts on ““In the Zone,” A Tanka”

    1. LOL! Thanks for the smile on my face. I needed that! My poetry writing is like my meditation… I need to do it every day! LOL! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Pingback: Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 67 – Play & Guess #SynonymsOnly – colleenchesebro.com

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