Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge #Poetry #TankaTuesday

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This week’s poetry challenge is to write a senryū as per Colleen Chesebro’s commentary below:

Senryū is a Japanese form similar to haiku: three lines with a s-l-s syllable count up to 17 syllables.

Senryū are written about human foibles, while haiku are more nature related. Senryū can be cynical or humorous. This poem makes the human, not the world around them, the subject of the poem.

Senryū are easier to write than haiku. Think about the human condition: sex, family relations, love, religion, politics, and any emotions that touch on the pain we experience through sorrow, prejudice, oppression, anger, and frustration

Colleen Chesebro of Word Craft Poetry blog

You can join in the challenge here: https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2023/01/17/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-303-1-17-23/

Here is my attempt:

Clandestine hands move

Silent serial killer

Everyone’s clock strikes

By Robbie Cheadle

Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

68 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge #Poetry #TankaTuesday”

  14. Excellent, Roberta. I thought you might like this. My wife is taking a African Literature course as part of her PhD studies. She learned the class came about after a student wanted to work on a master’s degree at St. Johns Collage up in Santa Fe, NM. St. Johns is a small elitist liberal arts college. When the woman asked about doing a master’s in African Literature, one of the professors in his snotty British accent told her there was no African literature. So the professor who is teaching the class my wife is in created a class in African Literature at UNM. Laurie has started with a 1931 English translation of “Chaka” by Thomas Mofolo. Are you familiar with it?

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    1. HI Timothy, of course there is African literature and I am delighted to know your wife is studying it. I do now Thomas Mofolo and his book Chaka. I am very interested in Zulu history and know a lot about Shaka Zulu and the history of the Zulu Kingdom after his murder. I am writing a collection of short stories which focuses on various African battles and pieces of fascinating African history. I have two stories about the Battle of Isandlwana and I have visited all the relevant sites in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Isandlwana Isandlwana is a fascinating battle to read about as the Zulu warriors thrashed the British. It was a most humiliating defeat for the British Empire.

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  26. I was having a conversation with my healthy 87-year-old friend today. She said she’s just starting to feel her age and realizing that her time is limited. So this poem is timely for me. I thought time would slow down when I retired, but it just keeps zooming along without us hardly being aware of it. Thanks for the awareness.

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  29. Wow. Time stands still for no one. We just saw a magic show (TV) where the act tried to get folks to believe they had traveled back in time… but he had actually advanced only his own cell phone, so when everyone else had watched his phone tick back in time (not sure how he did that…) all the clocks of the hostess and hosts held the same time. 🙂 Hubby figured out the trick before the hosts did!

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