My Tanka
Horror Tanka, plain and simple.
Tanka is a style of Japanese poetry, similar to haiku, but with different rules. The rules of tanka are:
- Five lines
- Each of the lines follows a specific syllabic pattern: 5-7-5-7-7
- Of course, for my purposes, there must be some type of horror or speculative theme
My Tanka
| summoning complete
the demon stands before me in horror I know the spell was not as written I am at demon's mercy |
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| the pixies hover
above their fallen leader tears of sorrow fall until their hearts are hardened and they seek out their vengeance |
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| her smile is wicked
as her lips part to show teeth that gleam shiny white her fangs draw my attention I fall into her enthrall |
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| he should have known
it was far too soon to test the experiment left a darkness within him Hyde was uncontrollable |
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| he fled in terror
afraid of what might follow it was just a gag go to the cemetery to call the ghost of a witch |
with pillow cases
and sacks to hold the candy children knocked on doors in their Halloween costumes none would know that mine was real |
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| the monster arose
from the green sea of Japan the army watched destruction was redemption Mothra fell to Godzilla |
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| a look of surprise
crossed his face as the bullet struck with a smoking gun and sharp determination she'd taken enough abuse |
cemetery still
buggy chirps the only sound I patiently wait by the grave of recent death for the undead to appear |
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| piercing and forlorn
a howl rises in the throat of the turning wolf shattering the solitude on the eve of a full moon |
holding onto hair
her head dangled from his hand she saw her body while her brain was functional and before her life winked out |
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| standing on the roof
the edge was ever so near nothing to live for the easy way out for some but scary as hell for me |
waiting Christmas Eve
not for jolly old Saint Nick but my worthless drunk he'd better have a diamond or his blood will stain the snow |
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| I knew I would say
anything to anyone whatever it took it just didn't matter anymore just make the pain go away |
He held a large gun,
the barrel pressed to my head. "Give me your money!" "You can't kill me," I replied. We are both already dead. |
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| "Just write a tanka,"
the poetry teacher said. How hard can it be? It may sound easy to you, But I can never get it. |
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| Something about her
seductive and alluring I couldn't place it until finally she smiled showing her vampire teeth — Based on my One Word submission for December 6, 2010. |
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| The spell didn't work
The demon did not come forth Time did not stand still I sold my soul for nothing Class would go on as scheduled. |
