The waka is a Japanese 5-line poem (or stanza) that is often considered synonymous with the tanka, because both have a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable per line structure. However, the waka groups its lines together in a particular way. The first 2 lines should make up one piece, the next 2 lines should make the next, and then, the final line can stand on its own--or as part of the second group.
It's possible to end stop after line 2, 4, and 5. But other forms of punctuation can do the trick as well. Writers Digest, Robert Lee Brewer
*****
Here’s my attempt at a waka:
Class or Sass?
He said, oh my God,
a Chevy, pulling two Fords!
My phone, that noise is
a pimple on someone's ass!
See, he has all sass, no class!
About the Creator
Denise E Lindquist
I am married with 7 children, 27 grands, and 12 great-grandchildren. I am a culture consultant part-time. I write A Poem a Day in February for 8 years now. I wrote 4 - 50,000 word stories in NaNoWriMo. I write on Vocal/Medium weekly.
Keep reading
More stories from Denise E Lindquist and writers in Poets and other communities.
The Vikings
The villanelle, like the other French forms, does have many of the same properties as the rondeau: plenty of rhyme and repetition. This French form was actually adapted from Italian folk songs (villanella) about rural life. One of the more famous contemporary villanelles is “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” by Dylan Thomas. The villanelle consists of five tercets and a quatrain with line lengths of 8–10 syllables. The first and third lines of the first stanza become refrains that repeat throughout the poem. It looks like this: A(1), b, A(2), — a, b, A(1), — a, b, A(2), — a, b, A(1), — a, b, A(2), — a, b, A(1), A(2). Writers Digest, Robert Lee Brewer
By Denise E Lindquist6 months ago in Poets
Comments (3)
Hahahahahahahahah this was hilarious! Also, I've only heard of Tanka before, not Waka. Thank you for sharing this!
Fantastic poem!
💙💚