Spring Haiku and Tanka

Recently I have been writing haiku a fair bit. Undoubtedly a talented haiku writer might spend agonized hours perfecting their verse, but approach has been--to the say the least--a little bit less strenuous. If I sit down for an hour, I usually end up with about ten of the malformed poems in my notebook.

Recently I have been wanting a little bit more room, and decided to start adding some tanka to the mix. The haiku has a 5-7-5 pattern, and is supposed to paint a scene. The tanka follows a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern, and should form a complete thought. Not that I necessarily follow the 'paint a picture' or 'complete thought' guidelines, but its something that perhaps should be kept in mind.

Feelings like flash qaodmasdkwaspemas4ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Floods. Anger like forest qaodmasdkwaspemas3ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Fires. As they swell
Up, they also come crashing
Down. Holding myself in check

![A wooden structure filled with bottles of sake.][f may_tanka_sake]

Riding the winds qaodmasdkwaspemas7ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls I envy the eagles qaodmasdkwaspemas6ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Specks in the sky. qaodmasdkwaspemas5ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls

![An eagle flying between two trees.][f may_tanka_eagle]

Tea in a coffee qaodmasdkwaspemas12ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Cup. Feet with nary a sock. qaodmasdkwaspemas11ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Blue sky. Gentle breeze. qaodmasdkwaspemas10ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls The river roars below. qaodmasdkwaspemas9ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Birds comprise the chorus. qaodmasdkwaspemas8ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls

![A windy gravel road.][f may_tanka_road]

Ah, relaxation. qaodmasdkwaspemas15ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls The battery is dying, qaodmasdkwaspemas14ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls But it works for now. qaodmasdkwaspemas13ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls

![A flower, slightly out of focus.][f may_tanka_flower]

Tanka, here I come. qaodmasdkwaspemas20ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Two more lines give so much room, qaodmasdkwaspemas19ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls But I still wonder: qaodmasdkwaspemas18ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Generosity provides qaodmasdkwaspemas17ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Rope enough for disaster. qaodmasdkwaspemas16ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls

![A picture of Storm, one of our dogs, smiling (albeit confusedly).][f may_tanka_storm]

Vegetables. qaodmasdkwaspemas25ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Teaching the same kids the same qaodmasdkwaspemas24ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Materials. qaodmasdkwaspemas23ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Looking in cracks for meaning, qaodmasdkwaspemas22ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls Sometimes I find it. Sometimes. qaodmasdkwaspemas21ajkqlsmdqpakldnzsdfls

![A river with cherry blossoms on its side.][f may_tanka_blossoms]

Fixations grow
In small devious places.
Weeding is a chore.