Colleen’s Weekly 2018 #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge, No. 70: “DESTINY & CHALLENGE” #SynonymnsOnly

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Colleen M. Chesebro 79 comments

WELCOME TO TANKA TUESDAY!

Hi! I’m glad to see you here. Are you ready to write some poetry?

HERE’S THE CATCH: You can’t use the prompt words! SYNONYMS ONLY!

I hope you will support the other poets with visits to blogs and by leaving comments. Sharing each other’s work on social media is always nice too.

Please note: We are all students of poetry. I have given you the instructions on how to write the different forms. Try your best to be as exact as you can. There are no tests, and I don’t grade your work. LOL!

The most meaningful change you will learn about is in writing a Haiku vs. a Senryu. Also, remember, pronunciation in various parts of the world will affect your syllable count. Go with your gut on deciding the syllable count. You are the poet and the creator of your work.

The reason I sponsored this challenge was to help all poets learn how to write various forms of poetry. Remember, if you are sending your poetry for publication in literary journals, contests, or self-publishing, you should know the correct forms and use them.

Image Credit: Brainy Quote.com

For Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge, you can write your poem in one of the forms defined below. Click on the link to learn about each type:

HAIKU IN ENGLISH 5/7/5 syllable structure. A Haiku is written about seasonal changes, nature, and change in general.

TANKA IN ENGLISH 5/7/5/7/7 syllable structure. Your Tanka will consist of five lines written in the first-person point of view. This is important because the poem should be written from the perspective of the poet.

HAIBUN IN ENGLISH Every Haibun must begin with a title. Haibun prose is composed of short, descriptive paragraphs, written in the first-person singular.

The text unfolds in the present moment, as though the experience is occurring now rather than yesterday or some time ago. In keeping with the simplicity of the accompanying haiku or tanka poem, all unnecessary words should be pared down or removed. Nothing must ever be overstated.

The poetry never tries to repeat, quote, or explain the prose. Instead, the poetry reflects some aspect of the prose by introducing a different step in the narrative through a microburst of detail. Thus, the poetry is a sort of juxtaposition – different yet somehow connected.

Cinquain

Senryu in English 5/7/5 syllable structure. A Senryu is written about love, a personal event, and have IRONY present. Click the link to learn the meaning of irony.

Image credit: Pinterest.com

(Currently, free-verse prose poems are NOT part of this challenge)

Here are some great sites that will help you write your poetry and count syllables.

thesaurus.com

For Synonyms and Antonyms. When your word has too many syllables, find one that works.

howmanysyllables.com

Find out how many syllables each word has. I use this site for all my Haiku and Tanka poems. Click on the “Workshop” tab to create your Haiku or Tanka.

THE RULES

I will publish the Tuesday prompt post at 12: 03 A.M. Mountain Standard Time (Denver Time). That should give everyone time to see the prompt from around the world.

WRITE YOUR POEM ON YOUR BLOG as a post.

How Long Do You Have and Your Deadline: You have a week to complete the Challenge with a deadline of Monday at 12:00 P.M. (Noon) Denver time, U. S. A. This will give me a chance to add the links from everyone’s poem post from the previous week, on the new prompt I send out on Tuesday. I urge everyone to visit the blogs and comment on everyone’s poem.

The rules are simple.

I will give you two words. Choose synonyms from those words for your poetry. You, the poet, now have more control over the direction of your writing. Follow the rules carefully. Don’t use the prompt words.

LINK YOUR BLOG POST TO MINE WITH A PINGBACK. To do a Pingback: Copy the URL (the HTTPS:// address of my post) for the current week’s Challenge and paste it into your post. You may also place a copy of your URL of your post in the comments of the current week’s Challenge post.

Because of the time difference between where you are, and I am, you might not think your link is there. I manually approve all links. People taking part in the challenge may visit you and comment or “like” your post. I also need at least a Pingback or a link in the comments section to know you took part and to include you in the Weekly Review section of the new prompt on Tuesday.

BE CREATIVE. Use your photos and create “Visual POETRY” if you wish, although it is not necessary. Use whatever program you want to make your images.

As time allows, I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY

If you add these hashtags to your post TITLE (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often:

#Haiku, #Tanka, #micropoetry, #poetry, #5lines, #Haibun, #Prose #Senryu, #CinquainPoetry

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR TWITTER ACCOUNT LINKED TO YOUR BLOG – I WILL NO LONGER TWEET YOUR POETRY… THERE IS NO SENSE SINCE YOUR TWEET BECOMES PART OF WORDPRESS.COM AND THERE IS NO ATTRIBUTION BACK TO YOU.

You may copy the badge I have created to go with the Weekly Poetry Challenge Post and place it in your post. It’s not mandatory:

HERE’S WHO JOINED US LAST WEEK FOR OUR 6th POETRY CHALLENGE USING SYNONYMS FOR THE WORDS: BOND & SEEK

Networking – Reena Saxena

Tomorrow never dies – Playing with words

Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Challenge – Bob Fairfield.ogr

Orbits – Tanka – Trent’sWorldBlog

Tanka Tuesday: Spring search – Jane Dougherty Writes

COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY POETRY CHALLENGE #Cinquain #69: Bond & Seek | But I Smile Anyway…

Colleen Chesebro’s Weekly Poetry Challenge No.69 Tanka Tuesday. Bond and Seek ( Synonyms only) | willowdot21

Geode – Bilocalalia

Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday: Bond & Seek – Afterwards

Forever #midnighthaiku | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo

Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge 69 – The Bag Lady

#Tanka Tuesday (1/30/18): Looking Glass Lives–a #tankaprose…#haiku #haibun #poetry – Frank J. Tassone

Manacles – Reena Saxena

A Meditation Haiku – No-Madder Nomadder

#Haibun: Paris and Roses | Charmed Chaos

Bound through Time: Haibun | Yesterday and today: Merril’s historical musings

Bond & Seek | thoughts and entanglements

Quest For Justice & Peace – The Syllabub Sea

#Poetry challenge – bond and seek – Robbie’s inspiration

February 2018 | method two madness

Connected – Triple Tanka – In Emma World

“The Pond,” A Haibun – colleenchesebro.com

Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge – No. 69 – Bond and Seek – The Sisters of the Fey

Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge #69: Bond & Seek (Synonyms Only) | Stuff and what if…

In the Space-Time Continuum – Calm and Chaos

Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 69, “BOND & SEEK” – The Secret Letters to Timbo

Weekly Poetry Challenge – a #Tanka | Katja Rammer

Inner Peace – Smell the Coffee

M J Mallon, Author (posted on our blogging collaboration: Sisters of the Fey

Ochlocracy – Like Mercury Colliding

Our POET OF THE WEEK is Suzanne from her blog, Calm & Chaos and her poem called “In the Space-Time Continuum.” Please note: I left off many of her images to save space. You will want to visit her blog to experience the post and her poem.

Now, be prepared. This is not your normal post. Suzanne says:

“This blog post grew out of thinking about how to respond to various blogging challenges on offer this week. Somehow they all morphed together in my mind and became a continuum of challenging ideas…”

Suzanne has skillfully woven a history lesson, a science lesson, and some of her own philosophical thoughts into a magical presentation which leads the reader to the last paragraph followed by a Haiku. (It’s a Haiku and not a Senryu because it deals with the theme of change).

The last paragraph and the Haiku qualify as a Haibun/Haiku although one could include the entire post. Her prose is concise, descriptive, and the Haiku is a sort of juxtaposition – different yet somehow connected.

“In the Space-Time Continuum”

The Celtic Cross has origins that pre-date Christianity and has meanings that parallel those of the Medicine Wheel of indigenous cultures. The four points of the circle symbolize many things – the four directions (east, south, west, north) – the elements (air, earth, water, fire) and time itself. Within the Wheel, time is both circular and cyclical. There are times of day – dawn, midday, sunset, night – and there is seasonal time – spring, summer, autumn, winter.

For the ancient’s time turned rhythmically in a never-ending circle and life was lived within its turnings.
As society became more mechanized and industrialized the concept of time became more linear. Things had a beginning, a middle and an end. Time was a process that could be measured, delineated, segmented and contained.

Now, controlling the passage of time is of paramount importance. Tasks are given allotted times for completion and people attempt to defy time, beat time and even stop time – “stop the aging process” etc.

Quantum physicists see time as intrinsically linked to space.
The scientist and TV presenter, Brian Cox says that time spirals. The flow of time is curved but rather than repeatedly returning to the same point in space, time spirals across higher and higher frequencies of that resonance.

In the past, I accepted the idea that time is something I can manipulate through my own actions. That I can seize the day and defy the odds. That I can (and must) strive to win under any circumstances for the winner takes it all.

The underlying message in all of this is that life is a battlefield and I must fight to stay in the game.

I’m finding, as the years rush by, that winning isn’t always possible and, even if I do win a round in the battle, the prizes come at a price. My physical, emotional and mental wellbeing are increasingly compromised. Despite what the ads tell me – bodies do age and, along with the need for physical fitness, there is an undeniable need for rest, recuperation, and downtime.

As the ancients knew as they moved through the cyclical passage of their lives, we need times of fallow – times when nothing much is apparently occurring yet, deep in the silence and inactivity, seeds are germinating.

Even so, I find when I attempt to stop the world life passes me by and I lose touch with our current reality. There are times when I need and want to strive – times when I desire to better my situation and improve my chances of success.

Now I seek a new path that is not driven by fears of losing but which places me in the way of opportunity. Maybe that path lies in developing an understanding of how the concept of the space-time continuum applies to my own life.
The space-time continuum allows for the growth of wisdom. Whenever time spirals to parallel points of resonance on the space-time continuum there is a possibility that the seeds I have germinated can grow into new, more evolved forms. Lessons can be learned, and new ways of being can result from that learning process. Rather than constantly repeating the patterns of the past and battling on against the odds I can develop new ways of living.

As the space-time continuum flows through and around me with increasing speed and magnitude I begin to intuit new ways of living
-ways that take into account both my need for downtime and my desire to strive, but which are in tune with more expansive perceptions of life as a multi-dimension, inter-connected energetic field.

No longer bound
old ways of being shifting
– exploring the new

If you need a brush up on writing a Haibun poem click HERE.