Pleasure and Pain - a Tanka Puenta

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Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge: Tanka Puente

Theme: Best and Worst Moments 

Robbie Cheadle is host for this first #TankaTuesday challenge in the new series.  

"A Puente poem comprises of three stanzas with the first and third being separate thoughts but sharing an equal number of lines. The second stanza is the bridge stanza and is a single line enclosed in tildes (~) that acts as a bridge between the thoughts in the first stanza and the third stanza. 

As this challenge is syllabic in nature, the first and third stanzas should be tankas in the standard form of 5/7/5/7/7.

1st stanza: separate thought, equal number of lines (5/7/5/7/7)

2nd stanza: one line enclosed in tildes (~) to distinguish itself from the last line of the first stanza and the first line of the third stanza. No syllable count, but keep it brief.

3rd stanza: separate thought, equal number of lines (5/7/5/7/7)

The poem should be titled."


I close my eyes, wish
to dream, and far within sleep
to chance upon you
seeking to reunite, if
only 'til the morning's dawn

~You cannot turn your back upon a dream,
For phantoms have their reasons when they come:~

awake again to
brilliant sun, and empty dreams
unfulfilling, and
as bitter as my daylight
life has been... and will remain

©2024 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved 


The bridge is a quote from Lord Weary’s Castle, a book of poetry by Robert Lowell, lines from The Ghost (After Sextus Propertius).

#tankatuesday #syllabicpoetry #tankatuesdaypoetrychallenge #puentepoem #tankapuente #RobertLowell #LordWearysCastle 


Comments

  1. JadeLiOctober 3, 2024 at 3:56 PM

    Lisa, your voice comes through so clearly here. I feel the thrill of the dream, the disappointment upon waking, and the bitter of a love that has gone. Been there done that. Gives me a lump in my throat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaOctober 3, 2024 at 4:20 PM

      Thank you. That's exactly what I was hoping it conveyed! How we hope to dream of a lost loved one, and when we do how real it feels. Then, like ice water thrown in our face, we awaken to it being a dream. Hopes dashed.

      Delete
  2. willowdot21October 4, 2024 at 6:12 AM

    This poem so well expressed feelings 💜

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 4, 2024 at 7:47 AM

    A wonderful bridge. Your poem is beautifully done. Robbie

    ReplyDelete

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