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

parched (a xiaoshi)

Pregnant clouds crawl
as the voice above growls.
While the parched earth opens
its mouth thirsty for rainfall,
a waiting heart whispers,
“wind, bring him home.”

—

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.

X is for Xiaoshi.

Xiaoshi, (small poem,shi = poetry / xiao = little, diminutive or small) is a genre of Chinese poetry from the 1920s. It is a fragmented poem with minimal explanation. It teams seemingly unrelated images with little indication of cause and effect. The frame is at the discretion of the poet although in sync with most Chinese poetry, it is common to be written as a quatrain.

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.

metamorphosis (an utendi)

To the girl in sequined long dress
exuding grace with innocence,
your future is anyone’s guess.
Oh, time can reveal what it is.

To the lady with red sharp nails
wearing your faux sensual, thin veil,
your young age allows you to fail,
our fate will be better than this.

To the woman clothed in deep scars
bearing burns from her fallen stars.
You have lost and won many wars.
Oh, now you know how living feels.

—

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.

U is for Utendi.

The Utendi or Untenzi (Swahili meaning deed or act) is a Swahili stanzaic form that I first found at Vole Central that is a Zejel without the Mudanza. The form is usually a narrative and should tell a story. Swahili epics appear in this form.

The elements of the Utendi are:

African Poetic Genres and Forms

1. a narrative.

2. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.

3. syllabic, 8 syllable lines.

4. rhymed, rhyme aaab cccb dddb etc. The b rhyme is a linking rhyme between stanzas.

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.

 

fireflies and crickets (a sedoka)

Little fireflies lit
the moon-void evening aching
for twinkling star’s warm loving.

Night-shift crickets sing
their choral lullaby for
all souls silently sinking.

—

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.

S is for Sedoka.

Sedoka, (旋頭歌 whirling head poem) is in many ways the same verse form as the Mondo. However the Sedoka is written by 1 poet and rather than question-answer, the 2 stanzas are often parallels. This verse can be found as far back as the 6th century.

The elements of Sedoka are:

1. 2 stanzas of 3 lines each, 19 syllables or less, often 5-7-7, sometime 5-7- 5 is used for each stanza.

2. the stanzas should parallel each other.

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.