Smile Senryu

Rachel B. Baxter
Poetry in Form
Published in
3 min readJul 20, 2017

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A Poetry in Form Prompt

Image from Pixabay.

For this month’s Poetry in Form prompt, I thought something simple and light-hearted would be a fun and stress-free way to get creative and to get some words down on the page. I’ve also noticed that there has been some interest on Medium in the senryu form. So, for the end of July, our prompt will be the “Smile Senryu.”

Here are the details:

The senryu is a Japanese form of poetry that is similar to the haiku in structure, but the subject matter is quite different. Both are 3-line poems with a common syllable count of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third (for a total of 17 syllables). However, the haiku form is typically employed when writing about nature, weather, or the seasons, while the senryu is considered to be the “human haiku.” In the senryu, poets often choose to write about human emotions, foibles, and humorous/ironic aspects of human nature.

For this prompt, I am asking poets to write on the theme of smiles. In other words, you can write about something that brings a smile to your face, something that inspires others to smile or even laugh, the image of a smile, or a memory of a smile that you hold dear. Of course, you are not limited to these suggestions — the topic is broad so that you can explore and discover what it means to you!

I realize that the senryu is a short poem and that writing them can be quite addicting! For that reason, you are welcome to submit more than one “Smile Senryu” or create a complete poem/series of poems that links several senryu together.

To participate, please submit your senryu as a draft (not a published piece) to Poetry in Form by Friday, July 28th at 12:00 a.m. (EST). If you are not already a writer for Poetry in Form but would like to participate, please let me know by responding to this post.

Generally, all of the rules outlined in the Submission Guidelines will apply except that new writers do not have to email/DM a draft first (just request to be added as a writer by responding to this post). Here are some additional guidelines to keep in mind:

  1. If you use an image, please include the source in the caption, even if you took the photo yourself. If you would like to use the image on this post, you may, just copy the caption I used, as well.
  2. Please use the tag “Smile Senryu” as one of your 5.
  3. Please double check your work to make sure that your use of the form is correct.

All submissions will be posted throughout the day on Saturday, July 29th.

If you have any questions, please ask them as a response to this post and I will answer as soon as I can. If you know someone who may be interested in this prompt, please feel free to tag them in the comments below. Also, I included the email sign-up below if you are interested in receiving an email notification each time I post a new Poetry in Form prompt. I can’t wait to read your responses!

  • Rachel

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A few good stories, a thousand different versions. My dreams are written in form. Author of Mother Scorpion. http://rbbaxter.com