Poetry Sisters Write Sedoka

The Miss Rumphius Effect · 12 months ago · 90 views

The challenge this month was to write sedoka. The sedoka is a Japanese poetic form that is an unrhymed poem made from a pair of katuata. A katuata is a three-line poem with the syllable count of 5 / 7 / 7. Generally, a sedoka addresses the same subject from different perspectives. Sometimes the first stanza asks a question, and the second stanza answers it. Given our theme of "in conversation," this form was a good choice for this year. I tried a lot of topics before I settled on fireflies (I love sitting outside on summer nights watching them) and secrets. Here are my poems. Fireflies Version 1 Flickers in the dusk—do they dance to call the starsor to keep darkness at bay?Each light holds a songbrief as breath and just as brightmeant for one who understands.Fireflies Version 2Why do fireflies glowin the hush of summer fieldswhispering through blades of grass?They carry twilight—tiny lanterns of longingsearching for a name in light. Secrets Version 1 Where do whispers gowhen they slip between closed lipsheavier than spoken words?They sink in the darkcurling into hidden roomssoft as breath behind a door. Secrets Version 2Why do secrets burneven when they are not toldcoiled quiet beneath the skin?They are living things—shadows that forget to sleepfeeding on the fear of light.Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. A few folks are traveling this month, but they may pop up later with a poem.Tanita DavisMary Lee HahnSara Lewis HolmesLaura Purdie SalasLiz Garton ScanlonWould you like to try the next challenge? We're talking back to a poem, any poem of your choosing, using Talk to Me, Poem, I Think I Got The Blues by Nikki Giovanni as a mentor poem. You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on August 29th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Marcie Flinchum Atkins. Happy poetry Friday all!