The Seventeenth of a Dozen Verses

On the bond paper above is "How are you?", written in the Japanese syllabary Katakana; in Rōmaji (the romanized Japanese), "How are you?" translates to "O-genki desu ka?"

Traditionally, waka, or Japanese poetry, should be written in Japanese syllabaries like Katakana or Hiragana. Nowadays, however, Japanese poems are usually written in or translated to English.


FOR this series of a dozen verses, I'm returning to short form. All the poems below are, metrically, in tanka form—a style of Japanese poetry which may consist of five lines with the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. Tanka and haiku (5-7-5) are the two most popular forms of waka, or Japanese poems.

Waka, in general, has no concept of rhyme, so you may consider the tanka below deviating from the traditional because all follow a rhyme pattern.

Whereas "Forgive nor Forget" has the rhyme pattern a, b, a, c, c and "Scent of the Wicked" a, b, a, a, a, the rest of the poems follow the pattern a, b, a, b, b.

Allow me then to describe my verses below as "poems in modified-tanka form."

May 14, Saturday
Bound Feet

Gray cars passing by;
I'm waiting to cross the street.
Pride will never die.
Though I seem to have bound feet,
I will always brave the heat.

May 15, Sunday
Lamb's Tongue

I crave for lamb's tongue;
It might give me guts to speak.
I won't talk their slang
Even if this does the trick.
Oh, they always make me sick.

May 16, Monday
Heart of the Blue Whale

As big as an ox
Is the heart of the blue whale.
Though I'm in a box,
My wisdom will never pale;
My heart's wish will never fail.

May 17, Tuesday
Fireflies at Night

Like fireflies at night,
I glow amidst misery.
I'll keep up the fight
'Til I reach eternity.
I will face my destiny.

May 18, Wednesday
Stare of a Witch

The bark of a bitch
May be scary for cats, but
The stare of a witch
Is scarier than a bat.
I will never kiss a rat.

May 19, Thursday
Electrify Me

My belovèd eel,
Oh please electrify me.
Your sparks I can feel,
Lifting me to ecstasy,
Lessening my tragedy.

May 20, Friday
Tunnels' Light

I no longer sleep
Well and sound during the night;
Tears I couldn't keep.
Please show me the tunnel's light,
And deliver me from fright.

May 21, Saturday
Friend's Compassion
{to Bheck}

Sometimes a friend's more
Caring than one's relation.
She opens her door
For you, and show compassion.
Friend, I pledge my devotion.

May 22, Sunday
At-home, At Last!

My heart is in bliss.
At last, I feel so at-home.
B.C. I won't miss.
I'm no longer in a dome.
The mud has now become chrome.

May 23, Monday
Forgive nor Forget

Yes, I may forgive,
But I will never forget.
What's there to forgive
When to faults they don't admit;
For forgiveness, they're unfit.

May 24, Tuesday
Better Are the Dead

The touch of the bed
'gainst our exhausted bodies...
Better are the dead
Than humans full of follies—
Who don't make apologies.

May 25, Wednesday
Scent of the Wicked

The stink of the dead
Is less repulsive than the
Scent of the wicked
And the stench of the twisted!
These leave me suffocated.


Archive
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