Love is Blind
A somonka.
The somonka is a Japanese form. In fact, it’s basically two tankas written as two love letters to each other (one tanka per love letter). This form usually demands two authors, but it is possible to have a poet take on two personas.
Love unrequited
Seems to be my destiny.
Why don’t you tell me
That you will reciprocate
The emotion that I feel?
Why such chimera
Should pervade your addled brain
I am loath to think.
Face up to it, Oedipus,
You have a complex, my son.
© Luigi Pagano
Originally published on May 12, 2003
© ionicus 2023
Well I would say you did that pretty well Luigi — ‘Somonka Man’ 😉
Gerry.
Gerry, many thanks. It is one of me earlier ones (2003) that I retrieved from my archive. 🙂
Ha ha ha! Clever response, that, especially considering Freud came along so much later than these two 😀
Very interesting poetic form, Luigi. I quickly abandoned my own attempt at haiku in The Ninety Nine Percent, so admire your accomplishment 🙂 Well done!
If I remember well, this was written after a poem of mine which mentioned Freud. It prompted me to use the Oedipus complex concept as the last line of this piece.
It was also a time when I was exploring exotic formats like the haiku, the tanka and the somonka.
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
ha ha very nicely done…Leila
Ta very much Leila. 🙂
Ciao Luigi! A definite step up from long ago. I think you are your best when applying structured formats like this – classical references and multiple personalities means you can park your tankas on the lawn anytime! Mitch
Ciao Mitch. Nice to hear from you. So you have decided to join this band of refugees from the old moribund site. I am still testing the water here with some new writing but with a lot retrieved from my archive.
This particular tanka was an early model easy to manoeuvre and park.
Luigi