A Choka
Punch-drunk love sours to white wine vinegar over years, as tensions spike at home... voices drip acid upon the floor tiles... brother and sister tripping over themselves in familiar apprehension... their little feet, hearts pounding the stairs to safety... "F**k!" He raises the bottle.
Choka?
The most intricate Japanese Poetry form is the Choka, or Long Poem. The early form consisted of a series of katauta joined together. This gives a choice of form structures of 5/7/5/5/7/7โฆ etc., or: 5/7/7/5/7โฆ etc.
The Choka could be any total line length and indeed many exceeded 100 lines. Looking at this, it is easy to see why Poetic Historians believe the katauta is the original basic unit of Japanese poetry using either the 17 or 19 unit onji.
d’Verse Quadrille #160
The above choka is my take on dโVerseโs Quadrille challenge.
The Quadrille is simply a poem of 44 words (excluding the title), and it can take any form. This weekโs challenge was to use the word โpunchโ in a Quadrille.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
A sad reality for far too many.
๐ฉ๐๐ป Lauren ๐๐ป๐ฉ
A very chilling and dramatic poem, David!
๐๐๐ป Dwight ๐๐ป๐
Carries quite a punch! ;).David, nicely done.
๐๐๐ป Sangeetha ๐๐ป๐
Too true too often David โ and too too sad. ๐
๐๐๐ป Rob ๐๐ป๐
Creative intro! Not all things age like fine wine. ๐
๐๐๐ป Michele ๐๐ป๐
The drunk resorts to punches and the children flee in hopes of disappearing from target range. Such a sad poem and far too true for too manyโฆ
๐ฅ๐๐ป Muri ๐๐ป๐ฅ
That’s a tragedy, especially for children.
๐ฟ๐๐ป Dolly ๐๐ป๐ฟ
Itโs a gut-punch for sure, when that love turns sour. The ending takes us thereโฆ
๐ข๐๐ป Tricia ๐๐ป๐ข
Too many of these punches being thrown. (K)
๐๐๐ป Kerfe ๐๐ป๐
Wow David! ๐ฎ That was powerful! ๐ช๐ค Packed a real punch with this one, pun fully intended! ๐๐
โค๏ธ๐๐ป Ken ๐๐ปโค๏ธ
Nice one David
Happy Monday
Much๐love
๐๐๐ป Gillena ๐๐ป๐
So sad and far too prevalent.
๐๐๐ป Brandon ๐๐ป๐