Tanka Train

Liminality · 2020-12-25T12:50:11Z

Don't panic. I can explain. Waka or tanka -> 31-syllable poems, written in a continuous line, but later popularised as poems with line breaks in 5-7-5-7-7 pattern. This thread is just like the haiku thread, except with tanka :D Please use the last line of the tanka before yours as the second line of your tanka. (Modifications made because of differences in syllable counts between haiku and tanka.) Traditional tanka typically have the following features: mix themes of nature with human feelings have a 'turning point' or a twist in the second last line little to no punctuation BUT feel free to write non-traditional tanka here as well! Here is a tanka to start, and I've underlined the line to use: i read that tanka were originally sung in a river stream which runs loudly gutter-borne through the streets, the roads to home

PoetryGoos

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Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:25 pm

PoetryGoos says... · Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:25 pm

We puff our feathers:
This bloom in our hearts survives
And thrives through memes and
GIFS and relatable goos
Content. You can't defeat Goos™.

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Omni

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Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:57 am

Omni says... · Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:57 am

you must leave and be
content. you can't defeat Goos™.
Abandon this plight.
Better to have goosed and live
than to have never done so.

︵‿︵‿୨ ♡ OwO ♡ ୧‿︵‿︵

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alliyah

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Sat Oct 22, 2022 3:42 am

alliyah says... · Sat Oct 22, 2022 3:42 am

Better to have tried
than to have never done so,
one can not fly well
without also falling well
we must dance with gravity

you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now

but i have promised to return

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fatherfig

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Sat Oct 22, 2022 4:51 am

fatherfig says... · Sat Oct 22, 2022 4:51 am

As leaves we know that
We must dance with gravity
Spiraling down yet
The wind is an outlier
Pushing us above our trees

[insert inspirational quote here]

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Omni

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Sun Oct 23, 2022 12:14 pm

Omni says... · Sun Oct 23, 2022 12:14 pm

we are seeds of change
pushing us above our trees
whose roots are too thin
and branches wilting
breaking through the canopy

︵‿︵‿୨ ♡ OwO ♡ ୧‿︵‿︵

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Liminality

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Mon Nov 21, 2022 12:12 pm

Liminality says... · Mon Nov 21, 2022 12:12 pm

Yellow morning light
breaking through the canopy,
lighting up dust motes
which float suspended within
air cold as a new Ice Age.

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Poor Imp

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Mon Jun 12, 2023 11:39 am

Poor Imp says... · Mon Jun 12, 2023 11:39 am

dusk at dawning smudged–
nothing breaks to stake the day
is coming, but still
will some gaze, looking for warmth
where sky has rubbed out the sun

ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem

"There is adventure in simply being among those we love, and among the things we love -- and beauty, too."

-Lloyd Alexander

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Liminality

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Mon Jun 12, 2023 11:19 pm

Liminality says... · Mon Jun 12, 2023 11:19 pm

Only two dim clouds
where sky has rubbed out the sun,
still air suspended --
memories lost to the years,
having followed the wild geese.

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Poor Imp

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Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:29 pm

Poor Imp says... · Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:29 pm

No eyes given leave
having followed the wild geese
are safe boundaried:
and they see more than what's been–
ice, dead leaves of summer-speak

ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem

"There is adventure in simply being among those we love, and among the things we love -- and beauty, too."

-Lloyd Alexander

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Liminality

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Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:40 pm

Liminality says... · Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:40 pm

Light frost gives way to
ice, dead leaves of summer-speak
when cold wind whispers,
I am silent before these
piles of fading yellow leaves.

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alliyah

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Sun Jun 18, 2023 1:33 am

alliyah says... · Sun Jun 18, 2023 1:33 am

She has left all these
piles of fading yellow leaves
for you to cherish -
do not pass by so quickly,
you'll miss this gift in winter.

you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now

but i have promised to return

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Poor Imp

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Thu Jul 06, 2023 2:04 pm

Poor Imp says... · Thu Jul 06, 2023 2:04 pm

Only one word says life:
do not pass by so quickly.
Sound is fugitive in this
the graveyard of the seasons
and missed, makes changing an ache.

ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem

"There is adventure in simply being among those we love, and among the things we love -- and beauty, too."

-Lloyd Alexander

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Liminality

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Thu Jul 06, 2023 11:01 pm

Liminality says... · Thu Jul 06, 2023 11:01 pm

Last sunset to view,
and missed, makes changing an ache,
the deep cut of night.
We fireflies stumble out,
slow to move, slow to ignite.

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pixels

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Tue Dec 30, 2025 12:36 am

pixels says... · Tue Dec 30, 2025 12:36 am

winter sun lingers
slow to move, slow to ignite.
embers learn patience
under ashen winter days;
a small flame remembers spring.

"How many faces, how many bodies can you recognize, with your eyes closed, only by touching them? Have you ever closed your eyes and acted unconsciously?"

-- Jean Baudrillard
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