The weekly waka

Brave heart, innocent

Compassion flows in and out

Beauty rests, silent

Sand passed through an hourglass

Does not question the motive.

by Kathy Koval

Have you ever written a waka? Mikao Usui meditated on waka poetry written by the Meiji Emperor. Usually written in a 5/7/5/7/7 format, modern waka, or tanka, are often written in a variation of this measure, using a short/long/short/long/long format with no more than 31 syllables. Submit yours to waka @ thereikidigest. com and be sure to include "waka" in the subject line.