Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
For the LAST poetry challenge of 2020, I want you to write a poem about hope, using your favorite poetry form (it doesn’t have to be syllabic). Please make these poems inspirational to others.
No negativity and No politics! We’ve all had enough politics to last us another lifetime.
After you’ve written your poem, tell us why the specific form you chose is your favorite. Why does that form resonate with you? If it’s a new form, teach us how to write that specific form.
I’ll stop by and comment throughout the week as time allows. There will be NO recap post on Monday, January 4, 2021. Make sure and visit the other participant’s post through Mr. Linky or from the ping-backs on the challenge post.
Tanka Tuesday will resume on January 18, 2021.
Please sign up below for our weekly newsletter to stay in touch. I’ll see you all in Michigan! (Be aware that my time zone will change. In Michigan, I’ll be posting on Eastern Standard Time).
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Last I week I challenged all of you to write a holiday themed cinquain poem with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/2. I’m so happy you shared your holiday traditions with us. Many thanks to everyone who joined in below:
1. | Padre | 9. | Jules (flash fiction) | 17. | Ruth |
2. | Jude | 10. | The Versesmith | 18. | kittysverses |
3. | Ritu Bhathal | 11. | Kat | 19. | Kerfe Roig |
4. | theindieshe | 12. | Merril D. Smith | 20. | S. Anne Davis |
5. | Trent McDonald | 13. | Eugenia | 21. | Annette Rochelle Aben |
6. | willowdot21 | 14. | Chel Owens | 22. | Colleen Chesebro |
7. | Cheryl | 15. | Goutam Dutta | 23. | Reena Saxena |
8. | myforever | 16. | s.. | 24. | Sarah Brentyn |
However, in my mind’s eye, I envisioned each of our cinquain poems strung together like a garland wrapped around our “poet-tree.” I’ve added your cinquain poems below, flowing in a visual garland from left to right. I’ve only added one of your cinquain poems, so please visit the links to the blogs to read the other poetic surprises not included. ❤
Now, close your eyes and imagine a garland made from our cinquain poems (and a few other kinds of poetry) wrapping around the tree.
Yuletide—
the longest night
of celestial darkness
brings us the return of sunshine—
balanced
©2020 Colleen
Little
Loving tokens
Not presents expensive
No gold or incense from three kings
Love gifts
©2020 Padre
Christmas
Each one, teach one
Share skills, ask a question
Many cooks, yet better dishes
Bonded
©2020 Jude
Music
Handmade glass bulbs
Ancient songs about birth
Cheap ornaments bought in childhood
Gingerbread
©2020 Trent
Christmas
Family time
Festive sharing of love
Presents given, food all eaten
Christmas
©2020 Ritu
Christmas
Memories to
Hand down, decorating
The hearth and tree, cosy, cooking.
Sleepy.
©2020 Willow
Morning
Early risers
Children forage stockings
Moms and dads still faking sleeping
Joyful
©2020 Cheryl
Back then
Stockings were hung
By the chimney with care
I loved them more than all the gifts
Wrapped
©2020 Lisa
darkest
night of winter
fair planets kiss, glowing
age of Aquarius dawning
solstice
©2020 kat
Listen
to the laughter,
chocolate-chased giggling and
bageled love feasts. Sweet echoes that
linger
©2020 Merril
noel
beyond joyful
sleigh bells jingle jangle
snow flakes fluttering to and fro
Christmas
©2020 Eugenia
Still, still
Sweet, silent night
Whispered stable story
Glad tidings sung of hist’ry writ
Baby
©2020 Chel
Festival
Multi-Cultural, Global
Merrymaking, revelry, bonding
Inducing sense of hope
Commemoration
©2020 Goutam
at last
finding herself
completely unprepared
gobsmacked under a mistletoe
first kiss
©2020 mindfills of s.s.
turkey
chutney dressing
children open presents
giving smiling laughing hugging
kinfolk
©2020 Ruth
Carols,
Decorations,
Winter magic sets in,
Santa Claus is coming to town*,
Christmas.
©2020 Aishwara (Kitty's Verses)
cookies
tree lights sparkling
music and kitchen cheer
exchanging gifts of Love Actu
ally
©2020 Kerfe
Cookies
Frosting fingers
Rolling the memories
Forming shapes of childhood
Baked love
©2020 Ann
Sis makes mincemeat pies
Father sends brother fruit cakes
My hips keep growing
©2020 Annette Rochelle Aben
painting
colors of love
on food plates and presents
I watch Christmas trees turn green with
envy
©2020 Reena
Lucky
To have other
Poets and storytellers
To explore seasonal greetings
Hurrah!
©2020 Jules
Winter
Snowflakes drifting
Darkness descends softly
Emerging sunlight proffers hope
Rebirth
©2020 Sarah
Thanks for being my poetry stars! See you tomorrow for the last challenge of the year!
What is tradition? By definition, tradition is:
We all celebrate different holiday traditions at this time of year. And, to be exact, there are many religious traditions that fall under these holiday traditions—not just Christmas.
I consider all of you to be part of my poetic family, so let’s create a huge collaborative garland cinquain (2/4/6/8/2) sequence of poetry that connects to each other like a garland of poetry wrapped around a holiday tree.
This week, write one cinquain based on your holiday traditions. I don’t want anyone bored this holiday week.
This site even has a link so you can install the extension on Google Chrome.
For Synonyms and Antonyms. When your word has too many syllables, find one that works.
Find out how many syllables each word has. I use this site to compose my poems. Click on the “Workshop” tab, then cut and paste your poetry into the box. Click the Count Syllables button on the button. This site does the hard work for you.
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY.
If you add these hashtags to the post TITLE on your blog (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often on Twitter:
#Haiku, #Senryu, #Haiga, #Tanka, #micropoetry, #poetry, #5lines, #Haibun, #Prose, #Renga, #Solo-Renga, #CinquainPoetry, #Etheree, #Nonet, #Shadorma #Gogyohka, #TankaProse
In a few short weeks, Christmas has once again snuck up on us! Happy Holidays everyone. Congratulations to everyone who finds the time to jump into this challenge. I know many of us are alone for the holidays, so I want to let you know that I will have a challenge up for the next two Tuesdays: 12/22 and 12/29. If you’re bored… hop on and get creative!
My first poetry challenge in January will (hopefully) be on the 18th! Fingers crossed that I have Wi-Fi by then in the new house.
January will be busy! A special thank you goes out to Frank J. Tassone, who graciously went through my manuscript for Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry. He’s acted in the capacity as my Japanese poetry content editor for the book. I couldn’t have done this without his knowledge and expertise. Thank you, Frank!
I have the first round of edits to complete and then the book is on the way to my regular editor to see if we need any more edits. I’m thrilled that I will publish this book in the coming months. It is truly a dream come true.
Many thanks to everyone this week for all the lovely poetry written this week using the image below. Here’s everyone who joined in:
We had a great turnout of poets who accepted my extra challenge of creating a wakiku to accompany my hokku.
Here is my hokku based on the image.
hazy reflections—
crows gather to remember
the gifts of summer
The different wakiku’s follow:
Seasons whisper to the deer. Gently as they ride with crows. Willow
Pyramids built on hot sands Dream reflections of lost time… Anita
As winter slowly creeps in Burying those sweet memories. Denise
a brief moments of respite dispelled like a soap bubble Jules
migrating thoughts never lost peaceful times for spirits loved Eugenia
ancestors speak in voices carried by skies singing wings Kerfe
I really enjoyed this collaborative style of poetry. Renga can be a lot of fun to write. We will have to try this again. I’ll see you tomorrow for another Tanka Tuesday challenge, Word Crafters!
Many Yule blessings—
may the joy of gratitude
find its way to you
©2020 Colleen M. Chesebro
It’s the third week of the month! Time for an Ekphrastic #PhotoPrompt
This challenge explores Ekphrastic writing inspired by visual art (photographs). I’ve selected an image for this week’s challenge.
I’ve always loved watercolors. There is something special that speaks to me from the muted and surreal colors and brush strokes. I especially connect with scenic images featuring humans and wildlife—especially birds! Write your syllabic poetry based on the image below.
If you want to be creative and feel up to an additional challenge, respond to my renga with your own two, seven-syllable lines. A renga is a cooperative poem, written by two or more poets.
I’ve written the hokku (haiku portion in 5/7/5). Your response to my hokku is the wakiku: two seven-syllable lines that connect with the interaction between the different links.
Remember, your renga stanza will link and shift. It will NOT tell a sequential story. Review the renga on the cheatsheet link below to refresh your memory.
Here is the hokku:
hazy reflections—
crows gather to remember
the gifts of summer
Your response to my hokku is the wakiku: two seven-syllable lines that somehow connect with my hokku.
Remember, your renga stanza will link and shift. It will NOT tell a sequential story. Review the renga on the cheatsheet link below to refresh your memory.
A simple yet powerful syllable counter for poems and text which will count the total number of syllables and number of syllable per line for poems like haikus, limericks, and more.
This site even has a link so you can install the extension on Google Chrome.
For Synonyms and Antonyms. When your word has too many syllables, find one that works.
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY.
If you add these hashtags to the post TITLE on your blog (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often on Twitter:
#Haiku, #Senryu, #Haiga, #Gogyohka, #Tanka, #TankaProse, #Renga, #Solo-Renga, #micropoetry, #poetry, #5lines, #Haibun, #Prose, #CinquainPoetry, #Etheree, #Nonet, #Shadorma
Kerfe Roig picked an impressive pair of words for us to work with this week for our #SynonymsOnly challenge: “mingle and drift.”
Here’s everyone who joined in:
Remember, when you add your post to Mr. Linky, it needs to be the address of your published post. The short link doesn’t work. I managed to find you through the ping-backs and corrected Mr. Linky.
Check out Aphrodite Beamish’s shadorma. If there is anything we need more of, its humor.
I also enjoyed Kerfe Roig’s reverse nonet. Her art work was done on rice paper, which I think is spectacular. One of my favorite textures.
Merril D. Smith’s shadorma sequence is filled with the rich imagery of the first night of Hanukkah.
Jude’s crown cinquain showed great creativity by adding bits of prose between the cinquain stanzas. He says, “I write this so we may not judge all those who may not conform to society’s expectations of what life or love should be.“
This week, Kerfe Roig selected the words:
PLEASE support the other poets by visiting blogs and leaving comments. Peer reviews help poets perfect their writing craft. Remember… sharing is caring.
This site even has a link so you can install the extension on Google Chrome.
For Synonyms and Antonyms. When your word has too many syllables, find one that works.
Find out how many syllables each word has. I’ve been using this site to compose my poems. This site does the hard work for you. (howmanysyllables.com has malicious code on it. DO NOT use)
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
Follow the schedule listed below:
Please note: I have plans to change the challenge in January 2021. My move will impact my hosting of Tanka Tuesday. As it stands, the December 29, challenge will be the last one of the year. I will not be able to do the Poetry Stars post that week.
Tanka Tuesday will resume January 18, 2021. I’ll miss all of you, but this will give me a chance to move. If I don’t have Wi-Fi yet, the challenge will have to wait another week until January 25, 2021.
Meanwhile, if you add these hashtags to the post TITLE on your blog (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often on Twitter:
#Haiku, #Senryu, #Haiga, #Gogyohka, #Tanka, #TankaProse, #Renga, #Solo–Renga, #micropoetry, #poetry, #5lines, #Haibun, #Prose, #CinquainPoetry, #Etheree, #Nonet, #Shadorma
Please follow me on my author blog: colleenchesebro.com where I publish my poetry and flash fiction. Thanks. ❤
Many thanks to everyone who joined in this week. There was so much fabulous poetry! Here’s everyone who joined in for the Poet’s Choice for Tanka Tuesday:
1. | Padre | 10. | D. L. Finn | 19. | Marsha Ingrao |
2. | Jude | 11. | willowdot21 | 20. | Kat |
3. | Reena Saxena | 12. | Gwen Plano | 21. | s. s. |
4. | Trent McDonald | 13. | The Versesmith | 22. | Linda Lee Lyberg |
5. | Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr | 14. | Goutam Dutta | 23. | M J Mallon |
6. | Cheryl | 15. | anita dawes | 24. | theindieshe |
7. | Dave Madden | 16. | Aphrodite Beamish | 25. | Kerfe Roig |
8. | Ritu Bhathal | 17. | Ruth Scribbles | 26. | You’re next! |
9. | Jules | 18. | Donna Matthews |
Check out the DIFFERENT syllabic poetry FORMS:
Kerfe Roig wrote an Abhanga Poem, which is an Indian syllabic poetry form with syllable counts of 6, 6, 6, 4, and lines 2 and 3 rhyming.
Dave Madden wrote a Rispetto, an Italian form of poetry, consisting of eight lines. Not only do the lines follow a specific rhyming pattern—ababccdd—but each must consist of exactly eleven syllables.
Jules wrote a Dodoitsu. This is a poem with 26 syllables: 7 in the first, second and third lines, and 5 in the last line. (7/7/7/5).
Remember, the first of the month’s challenge is where we try a new syllabic poetry form. The rest of the month we work with the forms on the poetry challenge cheat sheet.
The first two or three weeks in January 2021, I’ll be moving. I have no idea how quickly I’ll get Wi-Fi hooked up in order to host the challenge. I’ll be up and running as soon as possible. Would anyone like to host the challenge in my absence?
In the meantime, drop me a line in the comments and let me know what you like, or don’t like in the challenges. I’d like to introduce some syllabic poetry forms with rhyming schemes next year. I’ll teach you through a few posts about rhyming schemes and how to use them so they will be easy to incorporate into new forms.
I also want to know what you are looking for in a poetry challenge. I want to grow the challenge and the audience. Tell me what you think.
See you tomorrow for Tanka Tuesday!
It’s the first of the month and you know what that means! Word Crafters, choose your own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. It’s up to you! This opportunity only happens once a month!
Are you looking for inspiration for your syllabic poetry? Find an image on Pixabay.com or experiment with “found poetry” to find some inspiration. Another option is to try some magnetic poetry. You still have to count syllables, but it’s like putting together a puzzle! Use this opportunity to try a new form!
The Poet’s Collective features an index of Syllabic Poetry Forms. Check it out!
This challenge is a true poet’s choice! Use any syllabic poetry form that you’d like. As long as there are syllables to count, you’re good to go! Be creative. If your form is something new, teach us how to write it. Have fun!
Don’t forget to add the URL of your published poem in Mr. Linky below.
This site even has a link so you can install the extension on Google Chrome.
For Synonyms and Antonyms. When your word has too many syllables, find one that works.
Find out how many syllables each word has. I use this site to compose my poems. A simple yet very powerful syllable counter for poems and text which will count the total number of syllables and number of syllable per line for poems like haikus, limericks, and more.
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
See the URL in the browser image below. This is what the URL of your post will look like after you published your poem. Cut and paste that address into Mr. Linky below:
Follow the schedule listed below:
I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY.
If you add these hashtags to the post TITLE on your blog (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often on Twitter:
#Haiku, #Senryu, #Haiga, #Tanka, #Tanka Prose, #micropoetry, #renga, #solo-renga, #poetry, #5lines, #Haibun, #Prose, #CinquainPoetry, #Etheree, #Nonet, #Shadorma, #Gogyohka
Our theme prompt for this week came from Sue Vincent. She selected one of her own haiku for us to use as inspiration for our own syllabic poetry:
clouds cover the moon, beyond dawn's pale horizon sun rises unseen ©2020 Sue Vincent
I love using another piece of poetry as inspiration. Our perceptions are all different and there were many ways you could look at the poem. Congratulations everyone. You all did a fabulous job!
This week Padre’s poetry caught my attention. He chose the line from Sue’s haiku: “sun rises unseen” as his prompt. He created a double mirrored cinquain (two mirrored cinquains).
A mirror cinquain comprises two five-line stanzas consisting of a Crapsey cinquain (five-line, non-rhyming poem featuring a syllable structure of 2/4/6/8/2) followed by a reverse cinquain (syllabic pattern of two, eight, six, four, two).
Congratulations, Padre! You get to select the theme for next month’s #theme challenge. Please email me at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com with your idea. Thank you.
Night time
The darkest realm
The nocturnal dwellers
Scarcely aware of the coming
Sunlight
Morning
A place by night dwellers eschewed
They prepare for their sleep
In the dawn hour’s
brightness
Night time
The darkest realm
The nocturnal dwellers
Unaware of the coming sun
Spread wings
Unknown
Is the bright times of the daylight
For they in darkness rest
At the sunrise
They sleep
©2020 Padre
source: https://padresramblings.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/night-dwellers/
See you for the new challenge tomorrow!