the permanence of henna ~ gogyohka | RIVRVLOGR

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inPrior Years Poetry StarsTags:, , , ,

Source: the permanence of henna ~ gogyohka

Ken shares an amazing poem using a Gogyohka which is a five-line, untitled, Japanese poetic form. Unlike tanka (5/7/5/7/7 syllables), Gogyohka has no restrictions on length. (Wikipedia.org)

Here are the rules for this poem from Wikipedia.com:

Five rules of Gogyohka by Enta Kusakabe (1983)

  • Gogyohka is a new form of short poem that is based on the ancient Japanese Tanka and Kodai kayo.
  • Gogyohka has five lines but exceptionally may have four or six.
  • Each line of Gogyohka consists of one phrase with a line-break after each phrase or breath.
  • Gogyohka has no restraint on numbers of words or syllables.
  • The theme of Gogyohka is unrestricted.

the permanence of henna

the direction
of our inclinations
holds no pattern
carefree, the actions we take
the permanence of henna

©2020 Ken Gierke

I like this form. It’s unencumbered with few restrictions other than writing phrases in each line. It’s super creative!

Let me know in the comments if you would like to see this form added to our ever-growing list of accepted syllabic poetry forms.

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.

32 thoughts on “the permanence of henna ~ gogyohka | RIVRVLOGR”

    1. LOL! For poets who write freestyle poetry even the five or six lines might be too restrictive… but, it would open the door to some new creativity. Thanks for sharing, Ken. I like new forms. ❤

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        1. Free style poetry is really just prose… that’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like there is so much more skill involved in syllabic poetry. Remember, if you want to write prose you can choose the Haibun, too. However, this gogyohka will help new poets get started, I think. You’re a pro already, Willow. 😀 ❤

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