Become a
Premium Member
and post notes and photos about your poem like Silent One.
Sedoka is a Japanese verse form that evolved from ancient songs. They can be mood poems, similar to tanka, or they can tell stories in the manner of a song. Sedoka consist of 6 lines of 5-7-7-5-7-7 syllables respectively. Each 5-7-7 unit is called a katauta. Traditionally, the second katauta says the same thing as the first katauta, although in a different way. In modern English the syllable count is somewhat more flexible, and there is usually a turn, or change in direction, in lines 3 and 5. The turn in line 3 is sharp, and the turn in line 5 is gentle.