This form was created by Mary Lou Healy, who write on Allpoetry.com as MLou.
It was patterned after the Italian song “Canto Della Terra” as expressed by Mary Lou in her own poem Chanson.
So true to the song is the form of her poem that she completed it using a tail, similar to a Bob and Wheel, which gives great freedom to other poets trying this form.
Chanson by Mary Lou Healy
We sing the earth
on waves of music lifting
spirits to the stars
and over oceans drifting…
days and nights
that through an hourglass sifting
turn seasons round
and our bright future gifting…
We sing of joy
a life of love beginning
rooted to earth
yet wings of beauty spinning
through lucent air
where blowing leaves are pinning
tomorrow’s hopes
and all our dreams of winning…
to the sun
the light, the light…
the sun, the sun,
the sun….
Pasted from http://allpoetry.com/poem/6701067-Chanson-by-Mlou
The Mlou Chanson is
A poem of 20 or 21 lines
Stanzaic: Two octaves plus a tail of four on five short lines
Metered: Alternating iambic dimeter and iambic trimeter for the octave
one or two stressed syllabls per line for the tail
Rhymed: xaxaxaxa xbxbxbxb for the octave, poet’s discretion for the tail
the octave rhymes are feminine.
My example
Let’s Sing! (Mlou Chanson)
We tend to sing
a song when we are happy
I tend to sing
alone because I’m crappy;
but none-the-less
the tunes I choose are snappy,
and frequently
I learned them from my pappy.
A flashmob meets
intending on performing
and often you
won’t notice while they’re forming
as into malls
or avenues they’re swarming
but when they start
you’ll find your heart is warming.
They’ll bring
a grin or smile
and sing, sing, sing
for just a while.
© Lawrencealot – November 3, 2014
Visual template
(Note: Any rhyme scheme okay for the tail)
