Tanka

Basically, Tanka is a form of poetry that originated in Japan and is now popular amongst English-speaking poets, also. Traditional Tanka is written in 5-7-5-7-7 form in terms of syllables, but it can be written free verse. Syllables do not matter so much as the words and spacing. Tanka typically does not have a title, capitalization, or punctuation unless the poet wants to include it. Tanka usually tells a story or describes an experience that the author had. The first two or three lines describe the experience, and the remaining lines provide commentary, emotions, or thoughts. Sometimes your third line can be a "pivot line" that is shared between the first two lines and the last two lines, but it's not required. A type of Tanka is Kyoka, which is more humorous, opinionated, and slightly mocking. Tanka do not usually follow rhyme schemes, but sometimes use assonance and consonance.