A Chōka Poem

By luigi_pagano

Tue, 07 Jan 2020
  • 1353 reads
4 comments
 

I do not know why
japanese poetry forms
seem very simple;
if you count the syllables
you are nearly there.
Follow the moraic structure
to write a haiku,
it must be about nature.
A senryu though
can cover any topic.
What I'm writing now
it's not one or the other
but a new poem
of an indefinite length
with five and seven
syllables alternating
every other line
and a concluding coda
of 7 – 7,
it is a chōka poem.
To wax lyrical
is a natural response
but it must end here.
So without further ado
I'll be saying cheerio.

 

© Luigi Pagano 2020

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Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Good to share your investigations, Luigi! and the point made here somehow of the different approach to rhythm, and having to decide on how long is best for the content you have. The idea of the coda to 'round off' is interesting too. I wonder how much the different language affects the appreciation and impact of the form. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

You pose an interesting question, Rhiannon. I too have often wondered how effective a translated  poem can be. Having attempted to translate poetry to and from my own language I know how difficult it is. There are certain idiomatic phrases that cannot be replicated literally.
I don't know Japanese and can't  offer an opinion. I have read that while English verse is characterised by syllabic meter The Japanese poetry uses sound units called  'on' or 'morae'.
I am sure that if we were proficient in that particular language the appreciation would be greater.

Thanks for your relevant comment.

Luigi x

 

 

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Interesting Liuigi you certainly are versatile! Ok so you say a Choka is a poem and that can be of an indefinite (any) length? A poem of infinite lenght is actually also theoretically possible. You can write it in a circle say and put a counting in to eliminate repetition. A computer programmer would have no difficulty.

&& Nolan

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi Nolan.
Yes I suppose that, as no limitations to the length of a poem have been defined, it is possible to have an unlimited number of lines. I have read that certain poems have reached a hundred verses.
Thanks for reading and commenting.

Luigi.