Toyin’

(Originally Published 2020.08.01)

Note: This is the very first TANKA from HitchHiker ever published on this site. Now they are a regular feature. You can sense the first five months of the pandemic in it. Unfortunately, the world hasn’t changed. Thank “42” that he hasn’t either!!! Lord, you never give up on us despite our efforts to continue to screw-up.

I have been known to dabble in Japanese style poetry from time to time; mainly Haiku. Recently, I came across a colleague who dares to publish his “Tanka Theology.”

Tanka dates back about thirteen centuries, and it predates Haiku (which was a derivative). Tanka is often written in the present tense capturing the moment, known for its vivid language, generally has a pivot point in the third verse, and exhibits a distinct syllabic rhythm (5-7-5-7-7).

To please and appease my cousin, the Teacher, here is a Tanka that I wrote this morning at sunrise. It was inspired by the verse of the day from biblegateway.com: Psalm 119:114