Gogyohka

her gentle spirit ~ gogyohka

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 12 Comments

For Mother’s Day and Colleen Chesebro’s #Tanka Tuesday
#Poetry Challenge No. 224, #Poet’sChoice.

her gentle spirit
a mother’s essence
etched into my heart
missing her
peaceful soul


Gogyohka (pronounced go-gee-yoh-kuh)
~ a form of Japanese poetry pioneered by Enta Kusakabe in the 1950s
~ 5-line poetry ~ like tanka, but with freedom from restraints
~ no fixed syllable requirement
~ no conventions regarding content
~ brief lines in keeping with the tradition of Japanese short verse

This gogyohka started as two senryū, but I wanted to express it in one verse.

her essence
etched into my heart
loving soul

a gentle spirit
memories that never leave
peaceful soul lingers

scattered clouds drift by ~ gogyohka

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 20 Comments

scattered clouds drift by
a beautiful day to be out
a tufted titmouse agrees
sunning turtles splash as I pass
my paddle slices the water

 

This gogyohka (off-prompt for Day 6 of napowrimo.net) is my response to Colleen Chesebro’s #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 220, #Poet’sChoice.


Gogyohka (pronounced go-gee-yoh-kuh)
~ a form of Japanese poetry pioneered by Enta Kusakabe in the 1950s
~ 5-line poetry ~ like tanka, but with freedom from restraints
~ no fixed syllable requirement
~ no conventions regarding content
~ brief lines in keeping with the tradition of Japanese short verse

NaPoWriMo 2021

~ Day 6 ~

Image: The Moreau River in April, Missouri

time spent with granddaughters ~ Gogyohka

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 44 Comments

eagerly waiting for her cousin

time spent with granddaughters
one newly welcomed to this world
one scampers with joy
comfort for these weary bones
closer to the end than a beginning

with dad

I have chosen to write a Gogyohka (5 brief lines in keeping with the tradition of Japanese short verse) to response to MTB: Jisei (Japanese Death Poems), the prompt from Frank Tassone at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to write a haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka, or Gogyohka that reflects on
imminent death – and the significance of life in light of it.

We welcome a new granddaughter who entered the world last night. Mother and child are doing well and will be home tomorrow. Once I actually get to meet her this weekend, I will spend two days driving home early next week, including a visit with my two-year old granddaughter in Cleveland.

Mom with her dad (back when)

hidden, but not ~ gogyohka

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 29 Comments

hidden, but not
sturgeon in a broad expanse
merely elusive
knowing where to look
the moon always rises

This gogyohka is in response to Frank Tassone’s #Haikai Challenge #150: Sturgeon Moon.
The first full moon of August is called the Sturgeon Moon, Grain Moon, Barley Moon or Red Moon.

My attempts to photograph the full moon on Monday evening (11 hours past full moon)
were stymied by clouds.  The moon was as elusive as a sturgeon.

Also shared with Just Sayin’, the Open Link Night prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub.

everything is gray ~ tanka, kyoka, gogyohka

/ Ken / rivrvlogr / 28 Comments

The prompt for MTB: 5-Line Japanese Poetic Forms from Frank at dVerse Poets Pub is to write a tanka, kyoka, or gogyohka. Frank discusses each of the forms. I’ve tried to cover all three, in order.  This series was a hard one to write.

bird with broken wing
beneath broken cedar branch
saved by helping hands
must be returned to the wild
before wild nature returns

broken clouds
in coming storm
offer hope
only an illusion
everything is gray

a soul is troubled
looking for escape
safe haven offered
troubles multiply
everyone suffers

Image source: Wikimedia Commons (edited here)