Tanka

Tanka is a genre of classical poetry that originated in 7th century Japan. Like the Haiku, tanka poems follow a defined syllable structure. However, while Haiku tend to consist of a 5-7-5 structure (17 syllables), most tanka are 5-7-5-7-7 (31 syllables; basically a haiku with 2 extra lines).

The reason I chose tanka was because, unlike haiku, they allow the use of metaphors, similes, and personification, which help add a little more scope to the story. For example, a tanka written by Kelly Roper:

"The autumn leaf let go of

the branch with a whispered sigh and

wafted resignedly down to the earth,

its destiny fulfilled."

Here, Roper describes the changing of seasons from the perspective of a leaf. Her use of personification adds emotion to the leaf's narrative and the feeling that the leaf is its own being, with its own thoughts and desires. However, in the end, it can not escape the laws of nature and eventually succumbs to fate as a new season takes over.