Turn Back the Clock - The Five and Dime Invented Form

 Tanka Tuesday No. 316

Poets and Storytellers United: Friday Writings : time affects all things


This week is a Special Birthday Prompt for Colleen's 65th birthday.  She has asked us to create a syllabic form with 65 syllables, or a combination of words that amount to 65.  I have chosen to create a syllabic form with the following requirements.

  • 9 lines
  • 10/5/10/10/5/10/5/5/5 
  • rhyme abaababbb (so 10 syllable lines all rhyme with each other, and the 5 syllable lines have a different rhyme with each other)
I call it The Five and Dime because the 10s and 5s written out made me think of the old five and dime stores, which at age 65, I remember!

To say that Time awaits no man is so.

Still, he seeks to block,

and stop the hands of Time to halt its flow.

If within my power, I would forgo,

not dare slow the clock.

So grasp whatever age Time does bestow.

Looking back, take stock,

head held high, and walk,

to Time’s door and knock.

©2023 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

#tankatuesday #tankatuesdayno316 #tankatuesdayweeklypoetrychallenge #syllabicpoetry #syllabicpoem #inventedform #inventedpoetryfrom #thefiveanddimepoetryform #thefiveanddime #oldagepoem #oldagepoetry 


Comments

  1. Very cool, Lisa! I love the Five and Dime name. Very clever!

    Yvette M Calleiro :-)
    http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very clever of you to create this form — and you've used it beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fun use of the form. And I have a similar outlook on aging. While I can't say I'll be all that glad for some of the aches and pains that will settle in, I know that it's a privilege to get older--one a lot of people don't get.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That looks like a fun form, and I love the name of it.Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like the layout of your new form and the title is easy to remember. Nice poem also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lisa, this is so good! I love the end rhymes too. Thanks so much and a great message! 💜

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful, Lisa. I loved how you played with time. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  8. This seems like a super fun form to try out!
    The rhyming element totally takes me there...

    Sincerely,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crow and Moon - Five Very Brief Poems

A - Alphabet Haiku

Taco-Mania