
You do blind me
With syllables and comely rhymes
You do blind me
With clever tempo and smart verse
You’ve challenged me so many times
I join in with Rondelet chimes
You do blind me.
********
The above is a Rondelet .
– How To Write a Rondelet—See below.
This is a poetry form of French origin using a syllable pattern, rhyme pattern, and refrains.
Sounds complicated and confusing? Nope.
It’s kind of like combining the Shi Rensa Haiku with the Décima.
How did that coincidentally happen on my blog of all blogs?
Honestly, I have no idea, because it was not intentional.
So how do you write one? I’ll put the quick version here and maybe have a full post later.
And no, this will not be a new poetry challenge.
TIP: Once you got it, stop reading. I will probably confuse you if you read too much. I have a bad happen of going overboard when I first explain a new poetry form, or anything else new.
There are seven lines.
One line appears three times. In lines 1, 3, and 7. Keep that in mind, because those lines need to make sense throughout the poem. It’s easier than you think. These are what are called refrains (repeats).
RHYME PATTERN:AbAabbA
SYLLABLE PATTERN: 4/8/4/8/8/8/4
Line 1: A—four syllables A rhyme
Line 2: b—eight syllables B rhyme
Line 3: A—repeat of line one A rhyme
Line 4: a—eight syllables A rhyme (I know it’s a small a, but it’s still an a.)
Line 5: b—eight syllables B rhyme
Line 6: b—eight syllables B rhyme
Line 7: A—repeat of line one A rhyme
TIP: Of course write line A first, but then go ahead and put it down two more times. space them out. Put a space between lines 1 and 3. Then skip three lines between 3 and 7. Sounds weird, but it helps. You practically have half the poem done with one line.