TANKA TUESDAY POETRY CHALLENGE STARS | #Synonyms Only: “Eager & Hope”

Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This week’s challenge words were selected by Sally Cronin who chose the words, “eager & hope.” 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 we found synonyms for the two words and wrote our poetry.

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:

1.	Henry Chukwuma	11.	Tiffany	21.	Vashti Quiroz- Vega
2.	Padre	12.	Cheryl	22.	anita dawes
3.	Gwen Plano	13.	Jude	23.	Goutam Dutta
4.	willowdot21	14.	s. s.	24.	Ritu Bhathal
5.	theindieshe	15.	Pat	25.	Ruth Scribbles
6.	Annette Rochelle Aben	16.	Heather	26.	Laura Eliza Haynes
7.	Myforever Myrna Migala	17.	Donna Matthews	27.	M J Mallon
8.	Tina Stewart Brakebill	18.	Erlyn Olivia	28.	Sally Cronin
9.	D. L. Finn	19.	Selma	29.	D. Wallace Peach
10.	Jules	20.	kittysverses	30.	Linda Lee Lyberg

First of all, I must congratulate all of you on the scope and magnitude of your poetry. Finding the right synonyms for the words, “eager and hope” certainly made your poems sing! Well done! As always, I like to highlight a few poems:

s.s. shared a haiku, called Waters Warming.

spring~ waters warming,
longing to float desires
on new paper boats

©2021 s.s.

What made the poem was the pivot, found in the last line, where she turns our attention to the imagery of new paper boats. This is what I call a hybrid haiku/senryu. We have the nature elements of the waters warming and a seasonal word: spring, like we use in a haiku. Yet, the poet adds a human response in the second line – “longing to float desires.” The entire haiku/senryu is really a metaphor for sexual desire and beginning a relationship anew. Metaphors make for great poetry!

Haiku are about nature, and senryu are written about human nature. Senryu can even be kind of raunchy and filled with sexual innuendo!

Selma, shared an impressive collection of poems called Eager & Hope.

Diana Peach shared a double ennead (99 syllable poetry I created for Carrot Ranch.com) that gives us a glimpse into her next book! This one is called The Sea Witch’s Bargain.

This week, I chose Jude to select the synonyms for next month. His haibun poem, Kissed by beauty. Between blessing and curse, is a tribute to the curse of beauty, or wanting to be seen as beautiful… when all his female character wanted was to be beautiful inside.

Jude writes his haibun prose as if it were freestyle poetry. I believe this works as well as writing sentences which is customary in a haibun poem. It’s creative and flows well with his haiku/senryu featured in bold print. I removed the images to concentrate on his words. Please visit his blog to get the full visual impact of this poem.

Remember haibun can be written as autobiographical prose, a travel journal, a slice of life, a memory, a dream, a character sketch, a place, an event, or an object. Focus on one or two elements. Haibun are really creative forms. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

The idea is to keep your prose simple, all excessive words should be pared down or deleted. Nothing should be overstated. The length can be brief with one or two sentences with a haiku, or longer prose with a haiku sandwiched between, to longer memoir works including many haiku, as Jude did below.

The haiku, or in this case, senryu should act as a comparison—different yet somehow connected to the prose, as it moves the story forward by taking the narrative in another direction.

Many beauties
No two alike
Yet none alone

“Mirror Mirror on the wall
If you won’t tell me I’m beautiful
Then I’ll find someone who will.”

On the cusp of dawn
She creeps from a salacious night
Clothed in disillusionment
And shrouded in regret
All her life she’s been christened a beauty
Drunk on vanity
Intoxicated by the scent of desire
For even now, she craves to hear it
Even now, it still drags her from the thralls of misery
Addicted to the silver-tongued promises that whisper;
‘Fairest of them all’

Queen of night Orchid
Only when the full moon beams
Does your flower bloom

She wields elegance with exquisite poise
Picturesque in grace and humility
Adorned in timeless splendor
But her eyes are dolorous with longing
Her lips are brushed with the pains of conformity
And her hair is pinned by the restraints of tradition
She loves and despises her beauty
Wields it with nonchalance
Never choosing, yet always chosen
A heart turned to stone
And so, let all her lovers beware
For all hearts must bleed
As She has bled

Lilies of the vale
Siren scents of innocence
Poisoned with malice

In the spotlight of twilight
She sashays seduction
And flounces artistry
The belle of the ball
The peach of a gaze
A pipe dream to swooning eyes
And yet loneliness still dogs her
And love still evades her
For settling is not in her fabric
And many do not understand
That the beauty she craves,
Is the beauty within

Lush vermilion rose
A spectrum of gorgeous hues
What is your true shade?

She is blessed with divine beauty
In rags or riches, she still enchants
All who look upon her, love her
But she does not know how beautiful she is
How much passion she incites
And how duplicitous this world can be
For her amorous heart
Never sees the bad
But only the good
A blessing
And a curse

Bright yellow daisy
In a meadow of happiness
Whilst dark clouds hover

Beauty
Sweet, sour, and everything between
For just like love and hate
The line between blessing and curse,
Is so very thin

© judeitakali

See you tomorrow for a new weekly challenge!