Tankas

Like haiku poems, tankas are small, form poems, originated in Japan. Each line follows a pattern dictated by its number of syllables.

The tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line. A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka translates as "short song," and is better known in its five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form.

I studied on a one-day a week creative writing course before my degree, I ad the opportunity to learn about tanka and managed to produce four of my own. The four poems developed organically, out of my love for nature and my family.

We lived on a housing association estate back then and I was always amazed by some of the local children, who often seemed to mill about without much parental intervention and support. My own son and daughter were kept occupied with sport, art and musical activities. The fourth poem reflects the development of those other children.

 

Adolescence


Keep your faith with me

When the world opens its arms

And you slip from view.

Youth may take you far and high

My love will hold if you fall.



Constraint


Political correctness

has stifled life’s frivolity.

Joy goes unspoken.

Speech tight-lipped, not free.

Who is different – you or me?



Bonsai


Tiny perfect leaves

Trim ev’ry minature bough.

Impersonation

scaled to perfection with skill

and patience by loving hands.



Cherry Tomatoes


You were not nurtured

yet year on year green shoots grow

wild on wet compost.

Carelessly discarded seed

Ripens to soft scarlet fruit.  


Thanks for reading. Adele

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Lucky Ashley

 by Ashley Lister

 In the past some ignorant people (thinking-challenged people) have accused me of being politically incorrect.

I refute these allegations.

Certainly, I have written poems that touch on sensitive issues such as weight (fatties), anorexia (metabolic underachievers) and stereotypical images of gender identity (fat women eating cake).

But this does not mean that I’m politically incorrect. I prefer to think of myself as being lucky.

Oftentimes these accusations come from masturbators (Tories) and rectums (Tories) who are prone to moaning about every damned (spiritually-opposed) thing they read. I’ll be honest (Liberal-Democrat-Challenged) and admit that these types of people make me want to vomit (undergo an unplanned re-examination of recent food choices). But the intention behind my choices has never been to upset or offend or insult.

I don’t write about those who follow Christian religions (morons/God-botherers/paedophiles) because I have never been sufficiently invested in religion to understand its nuances. Similarly I wouldn’t comment about other religions (terrorists/women-haters/Ninja) because my uninformed opinions have no weight or pertinence and are only likely to embellish or add to our national pool of egregious stupidity and misconceptions (tabloid newspapers).

By the same token I know so very little of issues relating to skin colour and hair colour that these subjects don’t fall under the rubric of my opus. I’m embarrassingly white (melanin incompatible) and the little hair I possess (follically under privileged) means that I have insufficient experience to broach these subjects with any level of authority.

But I count myself lucky for three reasons:

     

          1.    I’m lucky because I write with a supportive community of colleagues who are good enough to help me make appropriate lexical choices when this becomes an issue.

          2.    I’m lucky because I live in a culture where, although some word choices are questioned and discussed they are seldom treated as prosecutable offences.

          3.    And I’m lucky because, if the need arises, I can usually piss people off without resorting to being politically incorrect. 

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