Tanka

__ Tanka __ Formula 5 lines 31 syllables Line 1 – 5 Syllables Line 2 – 7 Syllables Line 3 – 5 Syllables Line 4 – 7 Syllables Line 5 – 7 Syllables

We place no other restrictions on this type of poem. Please keep in mind that many of our examples by other guides would be considered as Tankas. A Tanka's first three lines follow the haiku format. The tanka then continues with two more lines of seven syllables each. Sometimes as in the case of the first three examples below a tanka could begin as a haiku but continue with more thought and expression. Or, as in the case of the fourth example, some topics are just too big for a smaller from. **All of these examples have been previously copyrighted by their poetic wannabe, Rodney Chaney Home**

__ haiku __

__ Oriental Poems __ Haiku and Tanka Cherry blossom poetry Make writing fruitful As your creative thoughts bloom Meaning ripens from within

__ Atom __ Elementary Invisible energy Matter’s building blocks Nucleus protons neutrons Electrons spinning around

Haiku

__ Nucleus __ Atomic center Protons pressed with Neutrons Here Atomic Mass Small positive and neutral Matter’s Quarky holder

__ Deathly Deaf __ Hitler, Stalin, Mao Ruled for silent masses Gave the people voice Were their screams, moans, and shrieks heard? Is the world still deaf to them?