<p>I am Tekkan. I have married the poetic forms of the sonnet and the tanka. A story is told in the sonnet &mdash; using three quatrains, and a final couplet. The story reaches a conclusion in the couplet. The tanka offers a commentary or counterpoint to the sonnet &mdash; the combined poems have two endings. The meaning is direct &mdash; I want people to understand clearly. Metaphors are inspired by Shakespeare, the (aimed-for) precision imitates the Japanese. Mixing the sonnet with the tanka combines the sensibility of the Occident and the Orient &mdash; as I have done by living in America, England, and Japan.</p><p>&ldquo;Tekkan&rdquo; is the <em>dharma</em> name I was given. I use Zen mediation to make poetry of ordinary events. <em>Tekkan</em> means, Iron Man, a settled practitioner of great determination.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>