TANKA TUESDAY POETRY CHALLENGE STARS | #PhotoPrompt, The psychology of color

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

Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This week’s challenge was to choose synonyms for the words, “loose and tight,” using one of these forms: Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Tanka Prose, Renga, Solo-Renga, Cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, Badger Hexastich (hexastich for short), and Abhanga.

Remember… the first of the month you can write any syllabic poetry form of your choice. The rest of the time, we write our syllabic poetry in one of the forms listed, and we follow a schedule (posted below). I do this for a couple of reasons. It requires those of you who would like to enter contests or to submit your poetry to literary journals to learn how to follow their rules. This challenge gives you that practice. Besides, why enter a challenge if you don’t follow the rules? That’s the challenge part. ❤

ALSO: Make sure you are grabbing the URL of your “published” post when you link back to the challenge and in Mr. Linky. If you need extra help with these features, let me know and I will help you. ❤

Many thanks to everyone who joined in below and to Mr. Linky’s Magical Widgets:

1.Reena Saxena10.Tina Stewart Brakebill19.Zander
2.ladyleemanila11.Ritu Bhathal20.Ruth Scribbles
3.Henry Chukwuma12.D. L. Finn21.M J Mallon
4.Padre13.Colleen Chesebro22.D.G. Kaye
5.Jude14.Eugenia23.G.R. MELVIN
6.s. s.15.Cheryl24.kittysverses
7.Gwen Plano16.willowdot2125.Sally Cronin
8.Trent McDonald17.Jules26.
9.theindieshe18.Anita Dawes  
Image by Michael Bußmann from Pixabay

This week, I asked you all to use the psychology of color in your poetry. Using color provokes strong imagery, engaging your brain to react to the symbolism. We write poetry to connect with the world around us. The addition of color helps us choose words to convey a deeper meaning.

Think about the color blue. This hue can be warm and comforting, while it can also signify coldness. Don’t forget about the act of feeling “blue.” Just that one word (one syllable) helps to convey a range of emotions.

There were some exquisite poems this week, so please visit the other poets to read their poems. The Badger Hexastich seems to be a popular form. Please read Sally Cronin’s poems HERE to get an idea of how your words and syllables should flow smoothly with meaning when using this form.

Those short syllables can be choppy, as I illustrated in my poem. I did this to emphasize the lack of emotion the color gray can invoke. When you compose your poetry, think about your reader’s reactions to your words.

I also like Jude’s haibun senryu. In the haibun portion he writes each sentence separately, like a verse, instead of in a paragraph. He stays true to the Japanese form, but adds his own personalization to it.

Check out his word choice. Desdemona is a character from the Shakespeare play, Othello. Just the mention of her name invokes a kind of gray sadness as the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello who meets a tragic end. This is excellent imagery.

I chose D.L. Finn’s tanka poem below to highlight this week. I enjoyed Denise’s creativity. The first three lines convey a specific theme: the angel’s gift. The last two lines pivot, and she gives direction to her poetry by sharing her reaction to seeing the gift. The pivot was a surprise! The imagery is precise, yet doesn’t share too much by saying she “…saw the soul of the world.” What does that mean to you?

This week, I’ve asked D.L. Finn to choose the photo for next month’s #Photo Prompt challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.

THE GIFT

The angel’s gift shone
Like a rainbow umbrella
In a vile gray world.
Curious, I approached her
And saw the soul of the world.

©2021 D.L. Finn
Origami, another Japanese art form!

See you tomorrow for another fun syllabic poetry challenge!

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.

37 thoughts on “TANKA TUESDAY POETRY CHALLENGE STARS | #PhotoPrompt, The psychology of color”

  7. Thank you for this great summary of last week. I adore all able and willing be part of Colleen’s great challenges. I love poetry, but as one can say its “not given to myself”. 😉 Have all a wonderful week! Michael

    Liked by 2 people

  8. YAY for Denise. I love her poem. Thank you, Colleen, for offering the wonderful opportunities to stretch our writing form. 💗

    Liked by 2 people

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