Being some arty pictures from Annapolis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70104978@N00/sets/72157623739132170/

April Tanka Challenge

Tanka challenge 2010.  This challenge originally premiered in 2008 in my personal journal.

Can you think of anything more antithetical to the concept of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days than the discipline of coming up with one 31-syllable poetic gem a day?

Here's the concept - because I suspect some of my readers will want to jump on the old ox cart too: 
Write one tanka (waka)* a day.
*Resources on tanka: 
http://www.ahapoetry.com/TANKA.HTM
http://www.americantanka.com/
http://www.wodefordhall.com/heianpoetryjam.htm

The spirit of this poetic form being the impermanence of this dewdrop life, no other make-ups are permitted. If you miss a day, you miss a day and as in real life, you never get it back.   (You're on the honor system here....)

No limits on subject matter other than any you chose to impose upon yourself. Hopefully, some moment in your day will inspire you to write about it.

If you write more than one tanka a day, fine. However, you may not carry over tanka to other days except for the November 1 grace tanka.  You have to write a poem on each day.

(If you are inspired to "answer" someone else's poem, great. Personally, if I do so, I am not going to count it toward my daily assignment. The idea is to come up with something myself each day. What you do is up to you.)

Adherence to the 5-7-5-7-7 line/syllable count is required, otherwise it's not a tanka.

It's poetry, not stereo instructions. It should say something and it should make sense.

No rewrites.

Don't post it in MY personal journal. Post it in YOUR journal - or post it here in the LJ I set up for that purpose. (I had someone start sticking his poems in my journal last year and he had the nerve to be all hurt and upset because I kept asking him nicely and politely not to do so and deleting them as they had did not count as responses to things I was writing.) 

Tuesday night follies, now on Wednesday!

Dad turned up on my doorstep a bit after 5 and accompanied me to taiko class. My legs were killing me last night and I've got some muscle soreness today. I am putting it down to the fact that I spent two of the last seven days parked on an airplane for more than 6 hours and couldn't get any properly aerobic walks in during the Annapolis stay due to uncooperative weather or slower moving walking companions.  The o-daiko exercises are challenging - just when I start getting a glimmer of coordination on one move, Sean throws something new into the mix. (I have to move my feet and play at the same time????)

Still, it was fun, Dad was duly impressed with an art he's unfamiliar with, and we took the opportunity to try India Palace as it was on the way back across town. I had a classic rogan josh, he had a fish curry, accompanied by garlic naan, mango chutney and yummy basmati rice, washed down with mango lassi, and topped off with saffron ice cream dusted with pistachios. I snagged a take-out menu on my way out the door. Portions were smallish for the price, but I thought it was pretty good.

I instructed Dad in the art of using the On Demand menu so he could view the first three episodes of "The Pacific." He has a different cable provider than I do, but maybe he will be inspired to figure out their On Demand service at home. I started to droop in the middle of Episode 2, slunk upstairs and fell asleep to the sounds of machine gun fire.

This evening's festivities should include a grocery run, a nap, and knocking together an article for Yipe, since kproche  asked.