Kouta

Posted on by Reena Saxena

clouds part to reveal
a glimpse of my heritage
shades of a deep sky
rotating to show colours

my drooping eyelids suggest
I inherited the night
at the intersection of
elliptical paths

my eyes – not attuned
fail to comprehend
myriad tinges of God
I stay cocooned in velvet
let the days pass by

Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge No. 82 – Celebrating Heritage

The form used here is a Kouta

Each stanza has a different syllabic structure, as 5/7/5/7, 7/7/7/5, and 5/5/7/7/5.

Koutas use odd-numbered syllable lengths, usually as some combination of five-syllable and seven-syllable lines. We write the most common patterns in four lines of alternating 7-5-7-5 syllables or 7-7-7-5 (not to be confused with the mondo form) though these are only two possible variations. The last one has an extra line, which is permitted. No rhyming. No title.

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