The Firefly's Glow
A Feburary-Themed Poem On Love's Sacrifice
Love is mutual, not blind sacrifice. --Michelle Liew
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Embers in the eve,
Its glow outshines the rest,
Golden, steadfast, firm--
Fly's light burning bright for all,
Then it burns too dim, till gone.
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This poem follows the Tanka form. A tanka follows a traditional haiku-like structure--5-7-5, with two extra lines of 7 syllables each. So, 5-7-5-7-7.
Conventional Haikus and Tankas explore nature and its relationship with the human condition, like this one, which discusses blind sacrifice when loving someone.
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This work is not AI-generated or copied from any source. The presence of AI tags is coincidental.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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Comments (8)
Well written Tanka!!😊💕💗
Beautiful piece. Well done.
A beautiful tanka, Michelle!
Oh wow, that was so deep! Loved it!
Well Michelle thank you for explaining yet a different type of poetry. I felt like you had written this with me in mind. I have been trying to write different types of poetry and so has my wife. It is so interesting to see how many different types there is. No I have to try to write a Tanka poem. I must admit when I first came to the platform and read a haiku, I thought the writer had a cramp and couldn't finish the poem. 5-7-5-7-7. I will have to try and write one of those. Thanks Michelle for introducing me to a Tanka.
Oof, that last line hits—burning too dim, till gone. A firefly’s glow as a metaphor for self-sacrificing love? That’s both beautiful and heartbreaking.Love shouldn’t dim a person, but so often, it does.
Loved your Tanka poem! It burns like ember fires! There’s a poem in Stephen kings “it” that reminds me of yours! Amazing poem!
Very beautifully