Tanka Poem – Winter Mornings
lake reflections shine
showing the chill of winter
hills bathe in cold ice
remembering school mornings
when the air was very sharp
Tanka poetry consists of five units, usually with the following pattern of – 5-7-5-7-7 which is syllables.
The first three lines (5/7/5) are the upper phase. This upper stage is where you create an image in your reader’s mind.
The last two lines (7/7) of a tanka poem are called the lower phase. The final two lines should express the poet’s ideas about the image that was created in the three lines above.