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Welcome, friends! You’ve found Tanka Tuesday, the place where we write in five lines each week and really zero in on the small, exact details of desire, passion, and intimacy that absolutely land.

This Week’s Challenge

Write a tanka using this week’s prompt word. Start with something real, something you can point to. A touch. A glance. A breath. A moment of connection. Give us the smallest sensory detail that carries heat. Show us that moment, vivid and clear.

Then make your last line do something unexpected. Let it shift the meaning, reveal something hidden, or echo back what came before in a new way. That’s where the magic lives.

How to Play

1. Use the prompt word exactly as given. No variations or synonyms.

2. Stick to true tanka form. Five lines with 31 syllables total in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.

3. Keep it human. We are celebrating real, genuine creativity here. No AI-generated poems.

4. Drop your poem in the comments below. That’s it. Share it here so everyone can see all the beautiful work in one place.

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How to Shape Your Tanka

A tanka has five lines. Here’s what each part does:

Lines 1 through 2: A vivid sensory or intimate moment. Show it to us.

Lines 3 through 4: The desire, tension, or feeling underneath. Let it breathe without explanation.

Line 5: The turn. This is where the meaning shifts, deepens, or suddenly becomes clear.

Tip: Focus on the smallest possible scene. Skin touching skin. One room. One night. Zoom in on a single detail that speaks. Warmth. Texture. A whispered word. A held breath. Or capture a moment of change. Hesitation into surrender. The before and after of a kiss. Distance dissolving into closeness.

Prompt Word

Each week, I’ll provide a keyword prompt word or short phrase to get you started. You don’t have to come up with an idea from scratch. Just use that exact prompt word as given within your tanka and run with it however you want.

Last Week’s Standouts

A few entries from last week are still with me. Thank you for writing with such honesty and care.

Share Your Tanka

Post your tanka in the comments below. Come back and read, comment on what other writers have created, and share their work. I’ll read everything you write and share the ones that stuck with me right here next Tuesday.

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Show Your Support

Thanks for being here. I’m genuinely excited to see what you make of this week’s prompt. Let’s write something true, something bold, something that burns.

Love what you’re seeing? Show some love! Give the post a like, restack it, save it for later. Want to bring more poets to the party? Restack this post and tag a friend or two—or mention them right here in the comments under your poem.

Spread the creative energy!

Share

Past Challenges

Want to see what we’ve done before? Check out the past weeks.

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Did you know even a short poem can still pack a punch? A tanka does exactly that. In just five short lines and 31 syllables, you can say something meaningful. So if longer poems feel like too much, or if you’re sick of the same haiku style, try a tanka instead. It’s got a different feel and a fresh shape that actually works.

What Is a Tanka?

A tanka is a traditional five-line Japanese poem, originating in the 7th century and favored by court life by the 8th and 9th centuries. The name “tanka” comes from the Japanese words ‘tan’ (meaning “short”) and ‘ka’ (meaning “poem”). The tanka first began in the oral tradition before eventually evolving into a written form. By the Heian period, nobles and priests competed in poetry competitions.

The tanka has two parts. The first three lines describe a scene. The last two reveal emotion or metaphor, similar to a sonnet turn. Unlike haiku, tankas can include metaphors for deeper meaning.

This Challenge Is a Bit Different

It only happens once a week. Instead of sharing it like other poetry challenges, you will just drop your poem in the comments below. That keeps everything in a single creative thread, where everyone gets their moment.

How to Play

1. Use the prompt word exactly as given. No variations or synonyms.

2. Stick to true tanka form. Five lines with 31 syllables total in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.

3. Keep it human. We are celebrating real, genuine creativity here. No AI-generated poems.

4. Drop your poem in the comments below. That’s it. Share it here so everyone can see all the beautiful work in one place.

Prompt Words

Each week, I’ll provide a keyword prompt word or short phrase to get you started. You don’t have to come up with an idea from scratch. Just use that exact prompt word as given within your tanka and run with it however you want. Everyone starts with the same spark, so it’s fun to see how different each poem turns out. Plus, constraints can sometimes feel surprisingly freeing.

Keyword prompt: Sumptuous (3 syllables).

Meaning: It describes something that feels luxurious, impressive, and expensive-looking, especially engaging the senses of sight and touch.

Example: The bed was draped with sumptuous silk and adorned with soft pillows.

sumptuous, your eyes
dilate and swallow my name
lustrous on your tongue
purling inside your regard
you drink me down to silence

Show Your Support

Love what you’re seeing? Give the post a like, restack it, save it for later. Show some love! Want to bring more poets to the party? Restack this post and tag a friend or two—or mention them right here in the comments under your poem.

Spread the creative energy!

Share

Past Challenges

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Last week, I got a little too enthusiastic and tried to launch a poetry challenge for all you Substack poets in the Notes. Turns out Substack wasn’t thrilled with my mentions-happy energy—the platform basically ghosted my post, made it invisible (or whatever you call it when something exists but nobody knows it does), and delayed notifications for hours.

Oops.

Once I caught wind of the problem and restacked it, though? Things took off! Here are just a few lovely tankas from the folks who actually managed to find it and participated.

Now What?

I’m genuinely obsessed with fixed-form poems, and I’m hoping you will be too.

So here’s the thing—this week I’m switching tactics. Instead of Notes, I’m posting this as an article so it doesn’t upset the Substack gods and more people can actually see it. Fingers crossed, this way we avoid another algorithmic timeout and get way more participation.

This challenge is a bit different from those daily poetry tag-alongs you might’ve spotted on Notes. It’s just once a week, and instead of the restack-and-share deal (unless you want to, of course), you’ll drop your poem right in the comments below. Everyone gets their moment to shine in one big creative thread.

Let’s build something cool together—a whole community of people who love tankas!

And here’s the fun part: this is for everyone, not just the folks who subscribe to me. Restack this, shout out a writer friend or two, and bring them into the chaos. The more the merrier!

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How to Write a Tanka

Here’s How to Play

Ready to join in? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Use the prompt word as your muse. Let it guide your creativity!

2. Stick to true tanka form. That means a beautiful 5-line poem with 31 syllables in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern. It’s what makes it magic.

3. Keep it human. We’re celebrating real, genuine creativity here—no AI-generated content, please.

4. Drop your poem in the comments. That’s it. Share it here so everyone can see all the beautiful work in one place.

5. Love what you’re seeing? Give the post a like, restack it, save it for later. Show some love!

6. Want to bring more poets to the party? Restack this post and tag a friend or two—or mention them right here in the comments under your poem. Spread the creative energy!

   Leave a comment

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