Tanka

So I was poking around the web looking for a new way to arrange syllables (Apparently we no longer surf the web. So I poke.) and I found this website that must be for teachers:

http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm 

I worked my way down the list of poetry forms and found these instructions for a tanka poem:

"Write an Instant Tanka Poem

LINE 1 Five syllables: Describe when it happened
LINE 2 Seven syllables: Describe what happened
LINE 3 Five syllables: Your worst fear
LINE 4 Seven syllables: A positive outcome from the experience
LINE 5 Seven syllables: One life lesson you learned as a result"

Here are a couple of tries.

last night at your house
you turned to me and smiled hugely
were you faking it?
but no! all you said was love
open your heart, close your fear

* ** *** ** *

A pause in my walk

I saw white sails through the trees

I must be mad--then

Two white herons winged upriver

There’s still magic in the world

 * ** *** ** *

    I was wondering if the progress of subject matter through the lines was a convention of the form, or just some ideas to get you started. Whew, it turns out to be the latter. I have plenty of fears, but I don't think I could come up with a new worst fear every time I tried to write one of these things. 

    While I love haiku, sometimes I want space for a little more thought. I could come up with my own rules, but there is something elegant about time- and tradition-tested forms.