Jan 7, 2010

Monchielle Poetry Form

Finally, I found a poetry form that is neither from the troubadours nor the orient! :-)

The Monchielle form was created by Norwegian poet, Jim T. Henriksen. Somehow, when I think of Norway, poetry does not immediately spring to mind.

It consists of four, five line stanzas.
The first line in each stanza is a refrain.
Lines three and five rhyme, the others do not.
Traditionally, there are six syllables to a line, but this is not a strict observance.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? In fact, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked at first glance. The hardest part was actually coming up with the first line, which is repeated at the beginning of each stanza.



Dreamer

I long to live a dream
In dreams I can be free
To wander where I will
A troubadour of old
Living by my skill.

I long to live a dream
In dreams we can be free
Unfettered by the past
Ghosts all laid to rest
And time will ever last.

I long to live a dream
In dreams my life’s my own
I’m fit to no one’s mold,
Restrictions touch me not,
No longer be controlled.

I long to live a dream
In dreams my spirit soars
No fear of the unknown
Nor cowering in the dark;
No longer all alone.

4 comments:

Jamie D. said...

Norwegians, eh? ;-)

Interesting form, and you handled it beautifully. Where did I put that magic wand?

C R Ward said...

Thank you Jamie, you're very good for my ego! :-)

erica m. chapman said...

Beautiful poem. It flowed nicely :o)

Jim T. Henriksen said...

Actually, quite a good Monchielle, ms. Ward, but you posted somewhat errous information about the form. A Monchielle is as follows: First line repeats in each stanza, it consist four stanzas in total, each stanza consists of five lines, each line consists of six syllables, and lines three and five rhyme. The pattern is "Abcdc Aefgf Ahiji Aklml". I do have the information from the best source, myself... :)

Sincerely,
Jim T. Henriksen