17 Jan 2019 2 Comments
in beauty, Life, poem, Poet, Poetry, tanka Tags: 5 lines, Jemverse, light, morning, poem, poet, Poetry, poetry blog, tanka, wordsmith, writing poetry
Yes, it is morning
But time clings to night time still
and my pen falters
Caught between a moment there
the clarity hides behind
Daylight hides away
Its face obscured by darkness
and my pen falters
Unsure of the words that come
and can their truth be trusted
The beauty shines through
A small pink of light lurking
Confident my pen
Finds the words and hold them true
as a torch in the darkness
©Jemverse
Photo – Jempics
22 Dec 2018 2 Comments
in poem, Poet, Poetry, tanka Tags: Christmas, festive, Jemverse, poem, poet, Poetry, poetry blog, tanka, wordsmith, writing poetry, Yuletide
All decorations
up by first of December
Christmas is coming
Though earlier every year
commerce would have us believe
No bah and humbug
despite my reservations
As into spirit
flowing with the tinsel here
my heart goes to the yuletide
And into the fray
firmly with gusto I tread
‘Ho ho ho’ sung loud
I am the voice of Christmas
Seasons greetings one and all
©Jemverse
Photo – Jempics
04 Dec 2018 Leave a comment
in Life, poem, Poet, Poetry, tanka Tags: 5lines, bright moments, Jemverse, life, poem, poet, Poetry, poetry blog, tanka, wordcraft, words, wordsmith, writing poetry
To start this series
in thirty-one syllables
Japanese Tanka
A short song to bring you joy
Jemverse social media
So here are first lines
Crafted by the poet’s hand
Found and captured here
To form and syntax structured
Voicing life in five short lines
And I play with words
Crafting here my poetry
for you the reader
To take, ponder and reflect
for life’s many bright moments
©Jemverse
Photo – Google images
Tanka – Japanese 31 syllable poem of 5 lines with a syllabic sequence of 5-7-5-7-7
31 Dec 2017 3 Comments
in Life, photo, Poetry, tanka Tags: 2017, Jemverse, New Year's Eve, poem, Poetry, poetry blog, tanka, writing poetry
Twenty seventeen
And with Auld Lang Syne tonight
For sake of old times
We’ll take a cup of kindness
Old acquaintances renewed
©Jemverse
Photo – Jempics
02 Aug 2017 7 Comments
in haiku, Poet, Poetry, tanka Tags: haiku, Japanese, Jemverse, poem, Poetry, poetry blog, tanka, writing poetry
Stuck in a Haiku?
Feel that you’ve nowhere to go?
Why not try Tanka?
Two extra lines to play with
and thirty-one syllables
©Jemverse
Photo – Haiku from ‘Kito’ (1740 – 1788) – Jempics
Inspired by a blog posting on 30 July from ‘The Reluctant Poet‘
Both ‘haiku’ and ‘tanka’ are Japanese poetry forms. Haiku comprises three lines with a syllabic sequence of 5,7,5; Tanka comprises five lines with a syllabic sequence of 5,7,5,7,7
11 Dec 2016 Leave a comment
in photo, Poetry, Sussex, Walks Tags: Chanctonbury, fog, hiking, Jemverse, photo, poem, poet, Poetry, poetry blog, Sussex, tanka, Walking, writing poetry
Fog thick as pea soup
shrouds the Sussex countryside
Trees hide like shadows
Quiet whispers, coy and shy
as again I climb the Ring
©Jemverse
Photo – Chanctonbury Ring, Sussex – Jempics
18 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
in Autumn, Poetry, Rain, sun, Sussex Tags: Brighton, Jemverse, lazy, November, poem, Poetry, poetry blog, rain, relaxation, sunshine, Sussex, tanka, writing poetry
Breakfast in Brighton
November morning sunshine
follows after rain
Both providing sustenance
for lazy Sunday slowness
©Jemverse
Photo – Brighton Pavilion – Jempics
Day 7 of 7 in the Jemverse ‘Five Lines’ event – a tanka a day for 7 days.
A tanka is a five-line non-rhyming poem of Japanese origin dating back almost 1200 years. Using simile, metaphor and personification, the five lines must follow a syllabic sequence of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7.
