1001 Tanka Introduction

For years I've run a poetry Twitter called @1001Tanka, with the goal of writing 1001 Tanka poems and eventually collecting them into a book. I still have a long way to go. As Twitter collapses, I thought this was as good a time as any to begin migrating those poems over here.

Traditional Japanese tanka poems consist of 31 syllables written in a single, unbroken line. In English translations, the tanka tends to take on a five-line form.

Midway through a tanka poem, there's a change in perception. In a sonnet, it's called the volta. In a haiku, there's typically a "turn" between lines two and three. As with a sonnet, the change occurs as a transition from examining an image to examining a personal response.

Many of my Tanka poems do not fit neatly into that definition. Rather, I like to use the restrictions imposed by the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format to explore my emotions in a snapshot, like a picture of my feelings. Many of these poems are written on the spot, with minimal editing, to capture an idea in the fleeting moment before losing it. Unlike my short fiction, I cannot remember writing most of these.

In subsequent posts I will share multiple poems at a time but for now, here is one of the first I ever wrote. I actually do remember writing this one, in a moment of existential despair while unsuccessfully running for office back in 2020.

EMOTIONS OF A STRANGER

NO. 1

Exhaustion is my

Overwhelming, smothering

Best friend I never

Wanted or needed but it

Will always be there for me