Throughout April 2024, I invite you to join me on a poetic voyage to celebrate the beauty of language, expression, and creativity—one Tanka at a time. Bookmark the category: Making Verse – NaPoWriM2024.
#NaPoWriMo #GloPoWriMo 2024, Day 1
My dreams sprouted wings
One alights on the window
In summer’s warm glaze,
Resting from a tiring flight
Beyond grasp, yet within sight.
© Aneesha Shewani
https://www.bluepenstrokes.comIn 2023, I successfully participated in NaPoWriMo by writing verses inspired by book covers. You can view the collection of 30 verses in the category: Making Verse – NaPoWriM2023. Throughout April 2024, I invite you to join me on this poetic voyage. Together, we’ll traverse boundless landscapes, celebrating the beauty of language, expression, and creativity—one Tanka at a time.
April marks the arrival of National Poetry Writing Month or NaPoWriMo, where poets worldwide unite in the spirit of creativity and expression, “excited about the prospect of writing 30 poems in 30 days.” This year, I have chosen to explore the world of Tanka poetry and paint the canvas of April with the vivid hues of Tanka verse.
Tanka, a classical Japanese form closely related to haiku, weaves its magic through five lines. Its syllable pattern—5-7-5-7-7—creates a rhythmic dance of words. Yet, beyond mere structure, Tanka embodies several key characteristics that enrich its poetic essence.
In 2023, I successfully participated in NaPoWriMo by writing verses inspired by book covers. You can view the collection of 30 verses in the category: Making Verse – NaPoWriM2023. Throughout April 2024, I invite you to join me on this poetic voyage. Together, we’ll traverse boundless landscapes, celebrating the beauty of language, expression, and creativity—one Tanka at a time. Bookmark the category: Making Verse – NaPoWriM2024.
#NaPoWriMo #GloPoWriMo Day 30
In the midnight blue expanse
The rotund Moon hangs –
A bauble precious,
The stars are not far behind –
All trinkets, glamorous;
They say its luminescence
Can bring about madness
But all I gather is succor
In its gentle iridescence;
There is a calmness
A promise in its presence
To conquer the Darkness
And it’s forever mounting hubris.
Poetry inspired by the book cover for Moses Wolcott Redding. Standard Ahiman Rezon and Blue Lodge Guide. New York : Redding & Co., 1889 — Source.
#NaPoWriMo #GloPoWriMo Day 29
Do demons ride
The tail of a comet
And angels descend
In meteor showers
Does the man on the Moon
Know all our shenanigans
And the proud Sun laugh
At our daily humdrum
Do constellations shift
To rewrite horoscopes
Or the planets conspire
To decide fortunes
We gaze upon the stars
In hope and despair
Wishing for wings
And fairytale havens
Where diamonds rain
And the grass is emerald
While our blue-green orb
Screams to be heard;
In worshiping the skies
Gods, new and old
We callously decried
Our Earth’s demise
Poetry inspired by the book cover for Ignatius Donnelly. Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel. New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1883 — Source.
#NaPoWriMo #GloPoWriMo Day 28
I gazed at the lavish sprays
Swaying in the distance
Our car raised dust trails
Leaving them behind us
I wanted to see them close,
The tender sakura
In a baby pink posy
Yet we drove past
For we didn’t have time
To halt and admire
Radiant blooms of spring
Already in the autumn
Of our weary existence
We were afraid
That a few moments wait
Would keep us delayed
So, we zipped past them;
I held on to that memory
Of blossoms of cherry –
Delicate crystal baubles
On boughs laden heavily,
To turn them into poetry.
Poetry inspired by the book cover for Edmund Gosse. In Russet and Silver. Chicago: Stone & Kimball, 1894 — Source.
Blue Pen Strokes 