Kintsugi
An imperfect sedoka
Consider this cup.
It lies shattered on the floor.
What use is there for it now?
Consider this cup
Each piece sheltered in my hands,
Ready to be brushed with gold.
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A sedoka is a style of Japanese poetry consisting of two stanzas with three lines each and a syllable count of 5-7-7 or 5-7-5. It is called a sedoka (a poem where the head is repeated) because the first line is repeated. The nature of this style of poetry is believed to be a recitation of a question and answer between two lovers. Traditionally, the question/commenting stanza captures a scene in nature while the answer/responding stanza enlightens the scene and makes the sentiment whole. More information about sedokas can be found here.
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Comments (15)
Masterfully done. The parallelism of "shattered" and "sheltered" is sublime. And I will echo Gina by saying how much I love the answer being to brush the pieces in gold. Of course, you're describing a real pottery technique... yet also so much more; a redemption story in such a tiny poem.. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I think you have gotten to the heart of this poetic form. I think the sedoka might be a new favorite.
Thank you for the education on this form and a beautiful example, Loryne!
This reminds me of how I felt about my life during my divorce. My sons pulled me through. With their help, I healed and now am remarried to a much better person. Yes, there is always hope for a new beginning.
Loryne, I included your poem here on this weeks article ❤️✨☺️ https://vocal.media/writers/lust-for-words-3
A beautiful reminder of how life is appreciated or depreciated by our perception, thank you 🙏❤️✨
Lovely!! I can't wait to try this form!
Very nice. I find the sedoka form and history fascinating. Thank you for the explanation.
Thank you for the explanation of the form and your words are wonderful
Oooo, this is fascinating! I've never heard of a Sedoka before. You executed it brilliantly!
This is absolutely beautiful the way you did this; I loved how the “answer” ended up being to brush the broken pieces with gold 😊 I very much enjoyed learning about sedokas also!
Thought provoking great sedoka
This is beautiful, and I learned a new style. Thank you.
This is wonderful! I love the message.
This is beautiful. I luv'd learning about Sedoku. I am a free form poet but definitely am going to try this.
very nice 😀