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Screenshot of Colleen's Word Craft Poetry & Prose Website. By author.

No, Not Butterflies, But Stars, Dazed And Confused! #TankaTuesday

Reena provided a piece of her artwork for this month’s challenge

hat, handsewn
jingles with sequins
net, store-bought
reeks of gum
“Just to the clearing,” Mom says
I never transgress

one more step
I’m past the clearing
lost in thoughts
racing clouds
swooshing this way and that — gasp!
stars, dazed, in my net

lain confused,
smelling of fruit gum
in my net — 
laughing stars!
mighty my wrist that flings them
before Mom finds out

late that night
my net lays weeping
I’m baffled
aglow still
I creep to the open pane
stars sprint to my bed

© 2022 selmamartin.com


The Shadorma is a Spanish syllabic poetry form consisting of six lines (or sestet).
Each stanza is written as 3–5–3–3–7–5 for a total of 26 syllables with no set rhyme
scheme. It has a nice ebb and flow to the simple lines and is highly addictive. And
fun!

Here, I offer you a string of shadorma (shadormas? shadormae?) with a whimsy story for many more starry nights. Written for Tanka Tuesday, Ekphrastic Week.

When writing a Shadorma, says Colleen M. Chesebro, prose metrist, author of Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry, I concentrate on a specific
subject and add a title to the Shadorma.

Main photo: Screenshot by Selma
Ekphrastic Artwork for the week: Reena S. Thanks.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
I wish you miracles.

Selma Martin
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This Post Has 41 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    What an engaging response to the prompt! I do enjoy a good Shadorma. 🙂

    1. Selma Martin

      Glad to know this. Shadorma is a fun form. Thanks for the comment.

    1. Selma Martin

      Glad you liked it Harmony. Thanks so much. Xoxo. Always.

  2. Kathryn LeRoy

    I can see that small girl running in the field…and stars. Thanks for the imagery and flowing words. Yes, the form creates a hypnotizing ebb and flow. With gratitude…

    1. Selma Martin

      With gratitude to you for the lovely response and for being here.
      Happy birthday to you today. Sent you something. Just got word that it’ll arrive tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it. 💗 🤗 🎂 👏

  3. Sadje

    Beautifully written Selma

    1. Selma Martin

      Sadje. Thanks so very much, dearie. Blessings in your weekend. Hope there’s sun and laughter. XoXo

      1. Sadje

        Always my pleasure Selma

  4. Anonymous

    Enjoyed this mystical shadorma! 💫

  5. Nope, Not Pam

    Wow, that must have been difficult. 😊

  6. Anonymous

    I love how this became a story. Well done.

    1. Selma Martin

      Replying: yes, I do too. The poem wrote itself, really.
      Hey, friend. I’m having interruptions on the comments of my website. Please do respond to this reply so I get a hint that you got it. Thanks dearly. (I know I know you) blessings. It’s just not showing on my end. Thanks.

    2. Selma Martin

      Thanks for saying. I appreciate the comment. Blessings.

  7. memadtwo

    I’m glad the stars came back. (K)

    1. Selma Martin

      Hey K. Thanks for the comment.
      BTW, I’m having interruptions on the comments of my website. Not with every response: yours shows perfectly, but I’d like to know why. Next time you leave a comment it might looks differently. Olease bear with me for a while. Thanks dearly. Blessing you. Xoxo thanks, K.

      1. memadtwo

        I think we’ve all been having problems even though the happiness engineers at WordPress tried to convince me I’m the only one. Complain to them at least–if enough people do, maybe they will fix it.

  8. Ingrid

    Delightfully fun-loving, Selma 😊

    1. Selma Martin

      Aww. Thanks, dear Ingrid. Glad you saw fun here. BTW, I’m having interruptions on the comments of my website. Not with every response: yours shows perfectly, but I’d like to know why it’s happening too frequently now. Next time you leave a comment it might looks differently. Please bear with me for a while. Thanks dearly. Blessing you. Xoxo working on getting it fixed. Xo

      1. Ingrid

        I’m having some issues with comments too: they keep coming through as anonymous 🤔

        1. Selma Martin

          Same same. Keep the faith that things will get resolved soon. XoXo

  9. Anonymous

    Selma, this is magical! Well done. 💜

    1. Selma Martin

      Magical. Thanks.

      Hey, friend. I’m having interruptions on the comments of my website.
      Not with every response but it happened with yours. Yours shows as ‘someone’.
      Next time you leave a comment it might look differently. Please bear with me for a while. Thanks dearly. Blessing you. Xoxo working on getting it fixed. Xo

  10. judeitakali

    I love the whimsy, and especially the stars sprinting to my bed. 🤩

  11. Cindy Georgakas

    this was sure fun Selma. Loveit

    such fun stuff Selma. Thanks for brightening my day!
    💖🙏👏👏

    1. Selma Martin

      I’m glad it that that for you. Blessings. XoXo

    1. Selma Martin

      Hey, Vashti. So glad to see you here with a lovely comment. I appreciate the support. Thanks a million. I wish you miracles. xoxo

  12. forresting365

    Wow! This is SOOOOO beautiful, Selma!!! Thank You!!! 🤗💕😊

    1. Selma Martin

      Makes me happy to know you enjoyed. Xoxo. Blessing you.

      1. forresting365

        Yay!!!! and indeed! Blessing You right back!!! Hugs! 🤗💖🙏🏼

    1. Selma Martin

      Thanks for saying. I appreciate you reading and commenting. Blessings.

  13. Jules

    Reminds me of how the sun catipults rainbows from crystals – and then the magic when you set the crystals in motion 🙂

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