Thursday, December 26, 2013

Gwawdodyn

I came across this poem form in the January 2014, issue of Writer’s Digest and thought I’d give it a shot.  It’s called a Gwawdodyn – some wacky Welsh form that requires rhyme and restricts syllable count in each line but ultimately warps the end product by robbing it of a natural lyricism – or at least my attempt did.

The rules are to create the poem in stanzas of four with a syllable count of 9/9/10/9.  Each of the nine syllable lines must end in a matching rhyme, while the third line must contain its own set of two unique rhymes.  The poem can be as brief as one stanza but I’ve tried it in two. 

Weak Tea

You are the sweet magnolia tree
Refusing to be sampled for free
Stand pretty at first, inside you're reversed
Most confusing seductress to me

String up my kite and toss it with cheer
Ask you to help you buckle in fear
The weakness I see infuriates me

And the friendship soon ends its career

4 comments:

  1. Interesting form. The structure mimics a limerick:
    There was a young lady from Ryde,
    Who ate a green apple and died.
    The apple fermented inside the lamented,
    And made cider inside her inside.

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  2. LOVE THIS! I'm going to give it a try.

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  3. I'm fascinated by these poetry forms.

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