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Tanka Poems

Welcome to our collection of Tanka poems! This traditional Japanese form of poetry consists of five lines and has been practiced for over a thousand years. Tanka poetry is renowned for its brevity and its ability to evoke powerful emotions and imagery in just a few short lines. In our collection, you will find a diverse range of Tanka poems from contemporary and classic poets alike. Each one is a celebration of the beauty and power of this ancient art form. So take a moment to explore this rich tradition of poetry and immerse yourself in the timeless beauty of Tanka.

Displaying 219 poems from the Tanka poetic form.

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Grimm’s Dear Mili Tale: A Feminist Perspective — Karl Constantine FOLKES	I called her hero. A fairytale little girl. And not heroine. In a Wilhelm Grimm’s story. A dissertation problem. “What makes her hero?” Question...	2,614 views Rate it
A Poet is a Proverbial Messenger — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Words as a kernel The proverbs of poetry As a healing balm As cures for our deceptions Our wounds and our injuries As a mustard seed Feeble and...	2,160 views Rate it
What We Fear The Most — Karl Constantine FOLKES	What we fear the most: The depths of our underworld. Our own weakest spot. That which lies within our soul. That which haunts us in our dreams. ...	1,570 views Rate it
Man in Search of Self — Karl Constantine FOLKES	This is a preface. Man’s appeal for salvation. A psalm of David. “Search me, O Lord,” the psalm’s plea. “For you have scrutinized me.” Omnipotent...	1,133 views Rate it
Mystery of All Mysteries — Karl Constantine FOLKES	The Divine at work As ‘Collective Unconscious’ Source of all knowledge Pondered by philosophers Goldmine of psychiatry. Poets have probed it ...	1,042 views Rate it
The Two Travelers’ Musings — Karl Constantine FOLKES	The two travelers. In dialectical chat. Ego and Psyche. Ego as the extravert. With animated speeches. The two travelers. Forever tied together. ...	987 views Rate it
The Moving Finger — Karl Constantine FOLKES	The Moving Finger, Having writ, moves on, therewith Inscribing onwards An unfolding epilogue With all of us as players. Having entrances. Placed...	979 views Rate it
The Way of Nothing — Karl Constantine FOLKES	If the truth be told. Desire not to desire. Is still desire. It is not an uncarved block. As TAO would inform us. Lack of desire. Will breed lust...	944 views Rate it
Tarzan’s ‘Umgawa’ Burden — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Edgar Rice Burroughs Creator of The Ape Man Lord of the Jungle Tarzan — the name means ‘White Skin’ Overseer of Africa. This American Burrowed...	927 views Rate it
Elevation of Jamaican Creole — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Speech comes naturally. As gift of human learning. Not artificial. Like writing — an artifact. Contrived — to preserve our speech. Designed to save...	915 views Rate it
The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Out of Many — One. Center and Periphery. Singularity. The Essence of Noumenon. The Non-perceivable Source. Subject and Object. Objective...	850 views Rate it
Beehive B-Flat Rhapsody — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Beehive B-flat z’s The chords of B’s are humming… The drones’ symphony. Their Queen Bee’s Composition… Now abuzz in my waxed ears. Follicles of...	812 views Rate it
Fibonacci Dreamscape — Karl Constantine FOLKES	In sleep, a voice heard. Articulate with pattern. My voice — while sleeping. Captured by my wife — awake. While I remained in deep sleep. She heard...	773 views Rate it
How Children and Adults View Time and Space — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Irony of Time. The ways we humans see it. How it is measured. In so many different ways. During the human lifespan. When we are children. Just...	768 views Rate it
The Prisms of Life — Karl Constantine FOLKES	The prisms of Life. Starting from birth until death. Are our projections. Superimposed on all things. The deeds of our existence. The prisms of...	742 views Rate it
The Mission of Psyche — Karl Constantine FOLKES	A totality: Human soul, mind, and spirit. We call the psyche. The totality of Self. The Conscious and the Unconscious. Yet showing tension. ...	733 views Rate it
Pandemic of Pandemic! — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Call it pandemic. Pandemic of Pandemic! Man of flesh and blood. Bartering with unknown realms. His body, soul, and spirit. Call it pandemic. Our...	723 views Rate it
The Tragedy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Our tragic hero, he, made of much sterner stuff, by pride now fallen, yet loved by many as hero, and by God as his own child. A Prince of Denmark, ...	721 views Rate it
Schroedinger’s Cat and Quantum Indeterminacy — Karl Constantine FOLKES	‘Schroedinger’s Cat’ and Quantum Relativity. Thought experiment. Both in superposition. An imaginary state. The mind’s behavior. On the nature of...	649 views Rate it
Pandemic of Newspeak — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Modern pandemic: Culture-war narrative memes. Like ‘Transgender Rights.’ ‘Critical Race Theory.’ Spawned by Social...	639 views Rate it
We Are Intrepid Travelers of Space — Karl Constantine FOLKES	A global journey Traversing the Milky Way Our seatbelts fastened By Earth’s magnetic impulse We — intrepid...	625 views Rate it
Wisdom of DAO — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Wisdom of DAO: Contraction is addition and not subtraction. Weakness in its full balance defeats the hubris of strength. Read now from DAO. Read...	617 views Rate it
We Live By Our Myths — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Folk and fairytales. “Innocent” nursery rhymes. Biblical tales. Literature — in general. All have hidden messages. All convey some truths. ...	603 views Rate it
The Metaphysical Origin of the Universe — Karl Constantine FOLKES	Imagine this now: Without the Non-physical Having existence, Nothing could ever exist. That is plain metaphysics. Singularity. Is another...	598 views Rate it
The Hubris of I-ness — Karl Constantine FOLKES	At war with ourselves Ego as the Mastermind Battling our psyche The soul now wounded by a Self-inflicted malady. Selah: Pause of Contemplation ...	590 views Rate it