TANKA POETRY | JAPANESE POETRY
Can I Keep You Here With Me?
A poem about lost love
I recall a time when our fingers interlaced as we dashed across the busy streets of our lives stressors from all directions
uneven pavement we bruised our knees and egos tripping over cracks clash of personalities before it even began
we picked ourselves up running as fast as we can zigzag through traffic hazardous activity truly defined what we had
dangerously close we fell as a car brushed past external factors driven to separate us but you still held on to me
bruises and bleeding from the earlier collision we stood up again just a few more steps towards the other side of the street
stores across the street enticing us with their goods I bargained with Him can I keep you here with me in the middle of the street
honking from a car reality came crashing our focus returned first we cross this street and then happily ever after
clouds started weeping so you quickly shielded me with an umbrella but your hands began to shake we made a mad dash for it
we did not make it I felt the force of the crash our hands untangled you cried out my name in vain I watched them take you away
there was a time when I used the present tense to describe you and I but now you live in my past and I in the aftermath
This series of tanka* is written from the perspective of someone who was pressured by others to end a relationship. Have you ever been in a position where your family and friends disapprove of your choice of a life partner? Perhaps they believe that the person isn’t really good for you, or that your personalities are mismatched. But do their opinions really matter in the long run?
*Tanka is a Japanese-styled poem that consists of five lines; the syllable count on each line follows the format of 5/7/5/7/7. This means the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and so on. The first word of each line is not capitalised unless it is a proper noun or the pronoun “I”. Also, punctuation is not typically used.
Thank you for your inspiration, Shereen Bingham!
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