yours (a zejel)

My written words are now sweeter.
My sword sharper, my soul softer.
Your love made me better, braver.

Aboard the Himalayan air,
you trekked slowly near my heart’s chair,
braving love’s daunting, unmapped lair.
I felt your presence crawl nearer.

With tongue with none but honesty,
you brought not roses, sugary,
instead rhododendrons, spicy.
I smelled your soul’s songs closer.

With your hands, beside the road fire,
I heard my heart’s plea of desire,
“in my soon home you’ll be the sire.”
I’m now yours alone, forever.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Shubhodeep Roy

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

Z is for Zejel.

Zéjel is a romantic Spanish form with Arabic influence related to the Qasida and adopted by the Spanish troubadours of 15th century.

Zéjel are:

1. syllabic, most often written in 8 syllable lines.

2. stanzaic, opening with a mono-rhymed triplet followed by any number of quatrains.

3. rhymed, the rhyme of the opening mudanza establishes a linking rhyme with the end line of the succeeding quatrains. Rhyme scheme, aaa bbba ddda etc

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autumn bliss (a ya-du)

Shovel summer,
fall whispers death.
Warmer days’ done.
Here comes red leaves,
trees with naked sleeves.

Let autumn’s kiss
lull pain’s hiss, and
dismiss your hate.
Bliss is sweeter
for the forgiver.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

Y is for Ya-Du.

The Ya-Du or ritú (season) is stanzaic form dedicated to the seasons. The theme should express the emotions the seasons evoke. The form is a 15th century Burmese pattern using a climbing rhyme.  The elements of the Ya-Du are:

1. L1-L4 tetrasyllabic (4) and L5 may be 5,7, 9, or 11 syllables. 4-4-4-4-(5,7,9, or 11)

2. stanzaic, written in no more than 3 cinquains.

3. The form employs a climbing rhyme in which the 4th syllable of L1 rhymes with the 3rd syllable of L2 and the 2nd syllable of L3. L4 and L5 end rhyme.

4. dedicated to the seasons and the emotions they evoke.

x x x a

x x a x

x a x x


x x x b


x x x x b

or

x x x x x x b etc

verbs (a vakh)

Know the meaning of brave, break.
Learn the meaning of love, lose.
Swallow your unsaid words, breathe.
Think death is coming soon, live.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

V is for Vakh.

Vakh (Sanskrit – “speech” interpreted by some as “verse teaching”) is a 14th century stanzaic form, originated by a woman poet, Lalla-Devi or Lallashwari, a Kashmiri Shaivite mystic and Sufi saint. 258 poems by Lalla were preserved in this form ranging from songs, proverbs and prayers. This form is found among the earliest Kashmiri literature and records when the Kashmiri language emerged from a descendant of Sanskrit.

The elements of the  Vakh are:

1. a tetrastich, a poem in 4 lines although it has occasionally been found in a couple of stanzas of 4 lines.

2. syllabic, lines of 7 syllables each, with 4 stresses per line.

3. occasionally rhymed with true or near rhyme.

dappled (a tanaga)

Brain is the forest dappled,
with foliage of thoughts, puzzled.
Each nerve struck a dried twig breaks
leaking rash words without brakes.

Heart is the sea uncharted,
with no fences yet guarded.
Each thump opens more chambers
only for brave wanderers.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

T is for Tanaga.

The Tanaga is a Filipino stanzaic form that was originally written in Tagolog which to my ear is one of the more musical of languages. (Kumusta ka? Mabuti salam at) The form dates back to the 16th century and has an oral tradition. The poems are not titled. Each is emotionally charged and asks a question that begs an anwer. This form was found at Kaleidoscope.  The elements of the Tanaga are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.

2. syllabic, 7-7-7-7 syllables per line.

3. rhymed, originally aaaa bbbb cccc etc., modern Tanagas also use aabb ccdd etc or abba cddc etc or any combination rhyme can be used.

4. composed with the liberal use of metaphor.

5. untitled.

 

freckled sun (a raay)

Spread your wings and fly
high until you can
scan the sun’s freckles
sparkle beyond its
bits of flaws and faults.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

R is for Raay.

The Raay or Rai is a forerunner of the Kloang and has the same unique tonal pattern. It is a chained verse, written with the end syllable of L1 rhymed with the beginning syllable of L2. It was often used to record laws and chronicle events in verse. The elements of the Raay are

1. stanzaic, written in a series of couplets.

2. syllabic, 5 syllables per line.

before soon (a quintilla)

Ebb and flow goes the salty sea.
Welcome then goodbye goes the shore.
Fleeting foam on the sandy floor
will soon bow to the ocean’s knee.
Your now will soon be your before.

—

03.26.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

Q is for Quintilla.

The Quintilla is a 16th century Spanish quintain with a rhyme scheme that is more about what cannot be done than what can be done.

The elements of the Quintilla are:

1. syllabic verse, octasyllabic (8 syllable lines)

2. stanzaic, written in any number of quintains (5 line stanzas).

3. In each quintain only 2 rhymes can be used and it cannot end in a rhyming couplet.

4. There is choice of rhyme schemes of ababa, abbab, abaab, aabab, or aabba

5. when written as a decastich, (2 quintillas) the verse is known as Copla Real.

survival (a pantun)

Like rain in the middle of one hot summer
I was surprised with your sudden arrival.
Before I could pray, you’re sent as the answer,
a blessing for my gasping heart’s survival.

—

03.23.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

P is for Pantun.

The Pantun was at one time an integral part of Malaysian life, used to propose marriage, to tell a proverb, or to celebrate just about any occasion, even shared between warriors about to battle. It is originally folk verse.

The elements of the Pantun are:

1. most often a poem in a single quatrain made up of two complete couplets.

2. syllabic, all lines are of the same length, lines are written in 8 to 12 syllables each.

3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abab.

4. written in two complete couplets. The first , the shadow is to set the structure but its focus may be quite different from the second couplet, the meaning in which the message is set.

paper glides (an object poem)

Thin paper glides
with the hanging air
disrupting the
curtain of silence.

Thick, hard cover kisses
the wooden surface
of the mahogany table,

A page aching for ink
waits for the sweaty palm,
the first press of pen’s tip
the drop of the first blot.

New chapter starts.

—

03.23.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

O is for Object Poem.

The Dinggedicht or Object Poem is a things poem.This is a genre of poetry in which communication of mood or thought is made through acute observation of things and symbolic concentration. It was introduced in the early 1900s by Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke while studying impressionist paintings.

Dinggedicht are:

1. framed at the discretion of the poet.

2. formed by acute observations of concrete images in the world around, expressing symbolically an event, social condition, mood or idea.

melting frost (a musette)

Your smile
means reverie,
I’m lost.

You’re not
even afraid of
my ghost.

You’re the
summer melting
my frost.

I’ll choose
you no matter what’s
the cost.

 

—

03.23.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

M is for Musette.

The Musette is an invented verse form that presents the challenge of writing in very short lines. This form was introduced by Emily Romano and found only at Shadow Poetry. The elements of the Musette are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of tercets.

2. syllabic, 2-4-2 2-4-2 2-4-2 syllables per line.

3. rhymed axa bxb cxc etc. x being unrhymed.

winged dreams (a lanterne)

Let
hope be
the wings of
your uncharted
dreams.

—

03.23.2018
©2018 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo via Unsplash

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge and NaPoWriMo 2018.

L is for Lanterne.

Lanterne are:

1. a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines.

2. syllabic, 1-2-3-4-1 syllables per line.

3. is composed with no punctuation and no rhyme, each end-word should be strong.

4. centered on the page. Since this is a concrete or shape poem, the length of the word on the page factors into the equation, syllable count is not enough to determine the selection.

5. title optional.