Tag Archives: Brewer

Somonka

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The following description is reposted with permission from Poetry Magnum Opus, with thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine resource.

The Somonka, is a Japanese verse form that takes the frame of 2 tankas and carries a central theme of love. From that point there are differences of opinion in the scope of the subject and in how many poets are involved. The earliest Somonkas can be found as far back as the Man’yôshû, 1st century AD. They were the exchange of romantic poems between court lovers. Viola Berg’s Pathways For a Poet-1973 refers to the Somonka as the Rengo.

The Somonka can be simply an exchange of romantic love poems. But there are other Somonkas in which the exchange expresses all types of love; love between friends, sisters, parent and child etc. All sources suggest the first tanka should be a statement of love and the second a response to that statement. “Love” has also been broadened to “What does the world need?” by students in LA California who joined with a group of students in Africa’s Kenya. In their project, each student wrote a statement tanka and exchanged it with a student from the other country for response.

Although the Somanka is most commonly found written by 2 poets, there are Somonkas written by a single poet.

The elements of the Somonka are:

  1. a poem in 10 lines, made up of 2 tankas.
  2. syllabic, 5-7-5-7-7 5-7-5-7-7 syllables per line.
  3. composed in the form of statement-response,
  4. often written by 2 poets, one writing the statement the other the response but a single poet can write both parts.
  5. titled.
  6. unrhymed.
  7. built around the theme of love.

Example

The following description and example are reposted with permission from Writer’s Digest, with thanks to Robert Lee Brewer

The somonka is a Japanese form. In fact, it’s basically two tankas written as two love letters to each other (one tanka per love letter). This form usually demands two authors, but it is possible to have a poet take on two personas. 

Here’s an example somonka:

“Sugar,” by Robert Lee Brewer

I’m waiting to die;
I think it will happen soon–
this morning, I saw
two bright hummingbirds battling
over some sugar water.

I know; I was there.
I chased after them for you
until thirst stopped me.
Fetch me some water. I have
a little sugar for you.

Patrol Poem

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The Patrol Poem “is an accentual verse poem in three stanzas of four lines each.” Rex Allen Brewer invented the form in response to an exercise in group study of Poet’s Companion. It was an exercise to create a new form, distinct by meter, rhyme and use of poetic devices. I include it here because the form is musical and representative of one of many small poetic communities popping up on the internet. 

The Patrol Poem is:
• a 12 line poem made up of 3 quatrains.
• accentual verse, giving importance to stress count. There are 4 stresses in each of the 4 lines of the first quatrain, 3 stresses in each of the 4 lines of the second quatrain and the stress count alternates stresses from 4, 3, 4, 3 in the third quatrain.
• rhymed, rhyme scheme is xaxa xbxb xcxc. x being unrhymed.
• composed with repetition of words as a criteria of this form. In each quatrain 1 word is repeated 4 times, anaphora (repetition of the first word of the line) may be employed to accomplish this goal. 

Advice to a Beginning Poet-Writer 
by Rex Allen Brewer 

Listen to your broken heart my friend; 
listen as the old folks speak; 
listen to the jay’s tall tale; 
listen and learn before you speak. 

Write the simple stuff; 
write the common tale; 
write barefoot poetry; 
write to shape a spell. 

Learn to write with Glory words, 
words that soar and fight. 
You want words that sing and shout, 
words that dance all night.

With Apologies
by Judi Van Gorder

Late, again and again and again!
Late for school, the bell has rung,
late for work, a client waits,
late for mass, the Kyrie sung.

I’m always a step behind,
time seems to slip away,
I find too much to do. . .
delay, delay, delay.

I am even late in dreams,
I rush to be on time,
I vow to change, be punctual,
forever an uphill climb.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1921
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Can You Do This (Patrol Poem)

Cut out responding when provoked
Cut out concern that you’ve been dissed.
You cut your nose to spite your face
when cutting comments make you pissed.

Let words of rudeness wither,
let them simply dissipate.
Let a smile touch on your face,
let them see no sign of hate.

When taunters see you’re not affected
when mean words they choose to spew,
when tranquility’s reflected,
that’s when they’ll stop taunting you.

© Lawrencealot – January 5, 2015

Gwadodyn

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This is a complex form for which I found disparate specifications on the internet.
What is certain is:
It is an old Welsh form
It is syllabic, usually 9/9/10/9
It is stanzaic, usually quatrains or sestets
It is rhyming, usually mono-rhyme of the 9 syllable lines
And with internal and/or interleaved rhyme for the long line.
Here are the better references I used:
The gwawdodyn is a Welsh poetic form with a couple variations. However, both versions are comprised of quatrains (4-line stanzas) that have a 9/9/10/9 syllable pattern and matching end rhymes on lines 1, 2, and 4. The variations are made in that third line:
  • One version has an internal rhyme within the third line. So there’s a rhyme somewhere within the third line with the end rhyme on the third line.
  • The other version has an internal rhyme within the third line that rhymes with an internal rhyme in the fourth line.
In both cases, the rhyme starts somewhere in the middle of the third line and it is a unique rhyme to the end rhyme in lines 1, 2, and 4.
Here’s a possible diagram for the first version (with the x’s symbolizing syllables):
1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxb
4-xxxxxxxxa
Note: The “b” rhyme in the middle of line 3 could slide to the left or right as needed by the poet.
Here’s an example I wrote for the first version:
“Cheat,” by Robert Lee Brewer
The rumors you’ve heard are true: I run
to forget my past. What I have won,
I’ve lost in lasting memories, blasting
through my brain like bullets from a gun.
As you can see, “run,” “won,” and “gun” rhyme with each other, as do “lasting” and “blasting.”
*****
*****
Here’s a possible diagram for the second version:
1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxx
4-xxxbxxxxa
Note: In this version, both “b” rhymes can slide around in their respective lines, which affords the poet a little extra freedom.
Here’s my example modified for the second version:
“Cheat,” by Robert Lee Brewer
The rumors you’ve heard are true: I run
to forget my past. What I have won,
I’ve lost in lonley moments, my sorrow
my only friend while others are stunned.
In this version, “run,” “won,” and “stunned” rhyme (okay, “stunned” is a slant rhyme), while “lonely” and “only” rhyme inside lines 3 and 4.
Please play around with the form this week, because it’ll be the focus of the next WD Poetic Form Challenge starting next week.
******
A big thanks to Robert Lee Brewer
Gwawdodyn, gwow-dód-in-heer (gwad = poem) is the 20th codified, Official Welsh Meter, an Awdl. It is a combination of a cyhydded naw ban couplet followed by either a toddaid or cyhydedd hir couplet.The Gwawdodyn is:
  • is stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains made up of a Cyhydedd Naw Ban couplet followed by either a Toddaid or Cyhydedd Hir.
  • syllabic, L1,L2,L4 are 9 syllable lines and L3 is a 10 syllable line.
  • when written with a cyhydedd hir couplet the stanza is
    • rhymed aaba, with L3 internal rhyme and L4 cross rhymed b.
  • when written with a Toddaid
    • mono-rhymed.
    • composed with gair cyrch following the main rhyme and caesura of L3. The gair cyrch end rhyme is echoed in the first half of L4 in secondary rhyme, assonance or consonance.
x x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x x a
x x x x b x x x x b
x x x x b x x x a
x x x x x x x x c
x x x x x x x x c
x x x x d x x x x d
x x x x d x x x a
with Toddaid
x x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x b – x c
x x x x c x x x b
x x x x x x x x d
x x x x x x x x d
x x x x x x x e – x f
x x x x f x x x e
House of Stone Turns to Sand by Judi Van Gorder
Ballots stolen, voters turned away,
but dead men will vote twice on the day.
No new fields to plow, there is no work now,
no sweat on the brow, no one to care?
Mugabe builds his army of boys
they now shoulder guns instead of toys
He took back white-farms without care – the fields
without yields leave black cupboards bare.
Sick mother has no milk for baby,
a crocodile barks in the belly.
Mother is dying, baby is crying
no one defying, no one will dare.
(Zimbabwe is Shona for house of stone)This poem uses Cyhydedd Hir end couplets in stanza 1 & 3 and Toddaid end couplet in stanza 2. I couldn’t resist creating a main rhyme in stanza 2 that was also a linking rhyme between all stanzas.
A big thanks to Judi Van Gorder
Gwawdodyn Hir
Type:
Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Stanzaic
Description:
(gwow DOD in heer) A syllabic form that can go in two ways. Either way it consists of a syllabic sestet where all lines except the fifth are nine syllables and monorhymed. The fifth line is ten syllables and has a separate rhyme that may be internal (fifth and tenth syllable) or cross-rhymed with the sixth line (seventh through the ninth syllable of fifth line cross-rhymes with third through the fifth in sixth line).
Origin:
Welsh
Schematic:
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxbxxxxb
xxxxxxxxa
or
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxbxxx  (Syllable 7 to 9)
Rhythm/Stanza Length:
A Big thanks to Bob Newman
My Example
Uninvited      (Gwadodyn
My girl gone- my love unrequited
left me lonely and not delighted.
I gave girl next door transport from the store,
that and nothing more! How short-sighted.
You’d think perhaps I’d been benighted
I did not know what I’d ignited
That gal didn’t knock; my door wasn’t locked
from sleep I was shocked yet excited.
That she was nude was now high-lighted
by her chills that I soon had righted.
That she had applied could not be denied,
but midnight rides must be invited.
© Lawrencealot – December 25, 2013

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