A Christmas Lai – Experimental Choka – December 25, 2015

Photo Credits

Look, as this new day is born
Peaceful is this cold morn’
Bells ringing across the land
Say violence is banned!
Today, Christmas day
Hear now, listen to my lai:
Let’s cleanse our hearts of woe
Joyfully shall we now go
To celebrate our joy
‘Twas born Mary’s boy!
Then, the seed of peace was sown,
Something we’d never known,
Pray that it may now grow strong
And fill our hearts yearlong,
With love, hope and peace.

© G.s.k. ‘15

When I first discovered choka, I also discovered that this poetic form is all but extinct, though some modern Japanese poets have written a few and there is a small movement to try to revive it, it’s mostly in the West that the choka is finding new life.  Now it’s possible to find “classical” (either 5-7-7 or 5-7-5 syllable count) choka written by American or English haiku poets and very interestingly we also find some experimental choka – variations created by Western haiku poets.

In 2013, I tried my hand at creating an experimental choka a Rhyming Choka : 7-6-7-6-5 syllable lines  repeated 3 times … rhymes in couplets until the last line.

For a little more information you can click these links (there are many more, and these are not necessarily the best) Poet’s Garret, The Poet’s Collective, KUJAKU POETRY & SHIPS

Carpe Diem Special #188 Georgia’s 4th, another choka