An isosyllabic poem of 35 lines divided into three ten line verses and a five-line envoi.
Each line is usually eight or ten syllables long.
It has two refrains.
The rhyming and repeating structure are thus:
ababbCcdcD
ababbCcdcD
ababbCcdcD
cCdcD.
Example Poem
Distracted ( Double Refrain Ballade Supreme)
I wonder why it seems to be
that what I’ve planned is still undone
when evening catches up with me.
At times I’ve even not begun
on plans I’d reckoned might be fun.
I start my day with plans in mind
and then some poet’s verse I find
that illustrates I’ve more to learn
about those words so well aligned
and dally there without concern.
I will admit to OCD
that leads me to what I should shun-
a not known form of poetry
(or one at least I’ve never spun)
Always I feel I must try one.
I start my day with plans in mind
But ‘ere I start I’m ‘oft inclined
to read and let the candle burn
and ponder what my friends designed,
and dally there without concern.
I’m after all the invitee,
as sure as I’m my mother’s son,
they wrote these words for me to see.
The ticking clock can’t be outrun,
my plans get lost but know-how’s won.
I start my day with plans in mind
but some how they get left behind
when I see skills for which I yearn
where thought and form are well combined
I dally there without concern.
Although the Pert chart’s undefined
I start my day with plans in mind
occasionally I will return
to readings that were not assigned
and dally there without concern.
© Lawrencealot – January 24, 2014
Related forms: Ballade, Ballade Stanza, Ballade Supreme, Double Ballade, Chanso, Double Ballade Supreme, Double Refrain Ballade, Double Refrain Ballade Supreme, Grand Ballade or Chant Royal.
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