“Pond” by mrhayata (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrhayata/)
Ready for a challenge? Don’t worry: This form is fun. Today, “Y” is for “Yadu.” The Yadu is a Burmese poetry form. Here is the definition from Wikipedia:
[The Yadu] consists of up to three stanzas of five lines. The first four lines of a stanza have four syllables each, but the fifth line can have 5, 7, 9, or 11 syllables. A yadu should contain a reference to a season.
The form uses climbing rhyme. The rhyme is required on the fourth, third, and second syllables of both the first three lines and the last three lines.
e.g.:
- —A
- –A-
- -A-B
- –B-
- -B—
Here is an example I wrote for this year’s NaPoWriMo challenge. I altered the form slightly and used four syllables in every line:
A Landscape Grows in My Mind’s Eye
by Alyce Wilson
Climbing green fronds
wave like wands at
the pond’s edge, where
Spring’s gold air grows,
a prayer to day.
Blooms sink in mud,
flower flood of
leaf bud and sprout;
Winter’s drought now
breaks out in pink.
Green pollen blurs,
a cloud whirs by
and stirs the drink.
Water’s brink forms
a link to warmth.
If you prefer, keep it simple and write just one stand-alone stanza. From experience, I would recommend using short rhyming words with plenty of possible rhymes. You can find rhymes (and near rhymes) at RhymeZone.
Feel free to share your poem (or a link to your poem) in the comments.
The NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) challenge is to write 30 poems in 30 days during the month of April. For more, visit the official site, NaPoWriMo.net.
About Alyce Wilson
