Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the haiku with five unrhymed lines of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)

The 5/7/5/7/7 rule is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand and learn this type of poetry. For an in depth description of Tanka, please visit the Shadow Poetry Japanese Poetry Tanka section.

Example #1:

A cool wind blows in
With a blanket of silence.
Straining to listen
For those first few drops of rain,
The storm begins in earnest.

Copyright © 2001 Dendrobia

Example #2:

Subtle hints of spring
In the wet bark of the tree
Dew dripping from leaves
Then runs down the russet trunk
Pools round the roots and is drunk

Copyright © 2002 Can Sonmez

Example #3:

Peaceful solitude
intrinsic to our spirit
lost in pensive thought
standing on the edge of time
the road to nowhere special.

Copyright © 2002 Cheri L. Ahner