Blog No 192 I Brought You Roses a villanelle

I BROUGHT YOU ROSES... a villanelle

The villanelle is a fixed form like, for example, the Shakespearean sonnet. That means it has a fixed number of lines with a fixed rhyme scheme, although the line can vary in length from three to five feet. In the 20th century the iambic pentameter is the commonest line length- I brought you roses on a rainy day.

The word villanelle derives from the Italian villanella, referring to a rustic song or dance, and which comes from villano, meaning peasant or villein. Villano derives from the Medieval Latin villanus, meaning a "farmhand" The etymology of the word relates to the fact that the form's initial distinguishing feature was the pastoral subject. from Wikipedia

The fixed form was only codified in 19th century France and became popular in English. Subsequent to the publication of Théodore de Banville's treatise on prosody "Petit traité de poésie française" (1872), the form became popularised in England... from Wikipedia.

The form consists of six stanzas. The first five stanzas have three lines each (tercets). The last has four lines (quatrain). There is a set rhyming scheme with certain lines repeated as "refrains". Using small letters to represent rhymes (a, b) and R1 and R2 to represent repeated lines this scheme can be represented as (R1a, b, R2a) (a,b, R1a) (a,b, R2a) (a,b, R1a) (a,b, R2a) (a,b, R1a, R2a). 

 

With its repeated lines the form is well suited to subjects that are slightly "obsessive". The most famous modern example is Dylan Thomas' poem "Do not go gentle into that good night".

I BROUGHT YOU ROSES... a villanelle

I brought you roses on a rainy day

To open out their beauty to the eye.

The cold wind blew the petals all away.

A symbol for the hidden heart were they,

Where secret petals open like a sigh.

I brought you roses on a rainy day.

My words were lost and all that I would say

Was gone in ocean and the cold-wind sky.

The cold wind blew the petals all away.

The mundane wind rules sky of cloudy-gray.

Heart's flower has folded like a foolish cry.

I brought you roses on a rainy day.

O, then I knew you would no longer stay

And so forever I must pass on by.

The cold wind's blown the petals all away.

The rose has gone and now the cold winds play

About my mind where fading echoes die.

I brought you roses on a rainy day.

The cold wind blew the petals all away.

Blog No 191 Autumn Town Two

AUTUMN TOWN (TWO)- seven haiku

Once again on the streets of Lismore NSW. Late May 2018. With "snapshots"from a cheap phone, haiku collected from "moments". The syllable count- 5, 7, 5 is arbitrary in some ways and it has been argued that it allows more words than the original Japanese form. On the other hand it is a discipline that forces brevity and leaves a distinct "form" to each. Writing haiku helps you to look hard at the "everyday."

AUTUMN TOWN (TWO)

seven haiku

ONE

Parking Lot. Great fig,

Branching over cars and trucks,

Embraces autumn.

TWO

Between loud car streams,

Traffic island's tall palms bear

Heavy autumn fruit.

THREE

Upon grey, winged one

Steps with red feet, bright seeing-

Pigeon on May street.

FOUR

Small palm in mall space.

No sun. No rain. Do you know

Autumn is outside?

FIVE

Time reminds. Autumn

Goes to winter, goes to spring.

Shop window of clocks.

SIX

Above autumn street

Clouds drift. White billows on blue

Show wonder formings.

SEVEN

In rocks and plants, big

Goanna rears steel-mesh head,

Says- Don't climb on me.

Blog no 190 Wind Callls the Leaves to Whisper and Dance

WIND CALLS THE LEAVES TO WHISPER AND DANCE

Writing poems for younger readers is a good challenge as it demands a simpler approach- that is the end result needs a certain clarity while still being evocative. There is an unfortunate tendency (possibly brought on by academic essay writing on poetry) to believe that profundity in poetry can be equated with obscurity. The short lines in this poem get their form from a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed and various variants on this- Come, leaves on the branches, And play the wind's secret, soft song. The consonants in the poem try to evoke the rustling sounds of leaves in the wind.

WIND CALLS THE LEAVES TO WHISPER AND DANCE

Come, leaves on the branches,

Come shiver and whisper,

And play the wind's secret, soft song.

Green clusters on trees,

Come flutter and bustle,

And hustle and rustle,

Sing to the songs of air's choice,

Be the wind's voice!

Come fallen, dead leaves,

Come dance the wind dance,

Stir to the wind's unseen touch.

Come fading, dry leaves,

Come twirling and swirling,

Scattering, whirling,

And dance to the wind's secret beat,

Be the wind's feet!