Poetic Form: Choka

Another of ancient Japan's many poetic forms, chōka may be the longest of them. Chōka may be translated as "long poem," the opposite of tanka ("short poem"). In fact, chōka guidelines dictate a minimum length of seven lines, but no maximum.

Like haiku, senryu and tanka, chōka does not rhyme and has specific syllable counts in each line. The most basic chōka has three couplets with syllable counts of five and seven per line, plus a last seven-syllable line. This format allows a lengthy poem, using as many 5-7 couplets as the author chooses, then the finishing line. Thus, a nine-line chōka would have the following syllable pattern:

5 - 7 - 5 - 7 - 5 - 7 - 5 - 7 - 7

Like the other Japanese forms, titles of chōka may be taken from the poem's first line, or a key line, or may simply be numbered, though naming poems is completely up to the author without specific rules.

Example:

Camouflaged

Suitably quiet,
he succeeds in blending in,
quite invisible,
while he waxes nonchalant.
Indeed, he'd rather be
anything but recognized,
just another sapling
camouflaged by the forest.
Every now and then
he is freed from his cocoon
and shows brilliantly
his talent for spectacle,
as crippling stage fright
releases its hold on him
ever so slightly.
Whispers become raucous songs,
telling the world, "Look at me!"