So The Luminous Mongoose tagged me for their new Tanka Poetry shindig! (By the way, someone else tagged me for something recently, and I can’t remember who or for what. If it was you, please let me know!) I love how I’m always learning new things from you guys, and this was even moreso than usual.

For starters, I’d never heard of Tanka before this, but it looks really pretty! So without further ado, the TAP rules:

1. Headline your post with “The T.A.P. Tag!” and put “tanka” as one of your tags. DONE!
2. Make sure to link back to the original post that started the tag. DONE!
3. Make sure to mention the person who forced introduced the tag to you! DONE!
4. Pick 1-3 of your favorite anime. See below!
5. Write your tanka about the anime you’ve chosen. It’s fine if you decide to do only one or two if the schedule is tight. See below!
6. Tag at least 3 or more bloggers you know, and get their creative muscles flowing. Down at the end!

Re #3, I would happily be forced to write in obscure poetic forms. Probably some literary form of masochism in my unconscious, there.

TLM did a whiz-bang job of explaining Tanka poetry briefly, so I won’t repeat it; it is worth reading in its own right as it will help you appreciate any Tanka you may read even more—at least, that’s how it was for me.

The Poems

Ok, the first hard part of this was deciding: What are my favorite anime? Well, obviously Gate, and before that my fav was Silver Spoon, and there’s always Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (but TLM did that one, so I’ll skip it)… You know what? I’ll just wing it. Here goes my first try at writing Tanka:

Gate

A portal joins worlds.

Stranger collides with stranger:

Enemies? Lovers?

When dust of war has settled,

will laughter or tears remain?

(Ok, that was tough, but boy did it make me think hard about what exactly this series means to me, which was awesome!)

Silver Spoon

The familiar hurts,

so he flees to the unknown,

this boy at farm school.

It should be boring. Why, then,

does it win awards and hearts?

 

It’s late, but I’m having fun, so one more. This time, a more recent show…

My Hero Academia

A boy: A hero’s heart,

but not a hero’s power.

His wish comes true.

Responsibility brings

power, not vice-versa.

 

That last one is a jab at Spiderman: You know the whole “With great power comes great responsibility” shtick? Well, I’ve come to see MHA as embodying the opposite idea: With great responsibility comes great power. Put another way, it’s only because Midoriya takes on the task of rescuing Bakugo from the Slime Villain—a challenge for which he is in no way capable—that he receives One for All, thus gaining the power to do what he already believed he must. And based on my experience in life, I find this seems more realistic.

You’re stronger than you realize—until the day you call upon that strength in the face of crisis.

Finally, I tag:

Moya (she’s on hiatus right now, but I think she’ll really enjoy this)

Cactus Matt (I’m dying to see this one, I really am)

Plyasm (Don’t let me down, bro!)*

* “Bro” is used here in a gender-inclusive sense.

 

Thanks for reading!